Is the Philippe Clement building a 'siege mentality' at Rangers？ ｜ The Football Show LIVE

Scottish Football

s the Philippe Clement building a 'siege mentality' at Rangers? Rangers' manager Philippe Clement has shared insights into the emotional celebrations that followed their 2-0 victory over St Johnstone at Hampden Park. The match, which secured Rangers' place in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup, was marked by Clement leading his players to salute Rangers fans after the final whistle. Clement revealed that their celebrations were not spontaneous but carefully planned as a gesture of appreciation for the fans who had turned up to Hampden to support the team despite recent setbacks.  Also on The Football Show LIVE:  Why Hampden was notably sparse, with less than 25,000 Rangers fans in attendance; How important Connor Barron is to Rangers FC; Kyogo shoulder injury update from Brendan Rodgers; The latest Scottish football news and transfer news; Brighton make a formal transfer bid for Celtic's Matt O'Riley; Reaction to all Scottish League Cup fixtures and quarter-final draw; And much more!  00:01:15 Scottish League Cup results 00:03:36 Rangers 2-0 St Johnstone 00:10:55 Rangers fans don't like Hampden Park 00:12:44 Philippe Clement on Rangers celebration v St Johnstone 00:20:21 Connor Barron is a great signing for Rangers 00:21:35 Falkirk 2-0 Hearts 00:26:56 Celtic 3-1 Hibernian 00:33:16 Kyogo shoulder injury update 00:35:19 Brighton transfer bid for Matt O'Riley 00:40:45 Scottish football headlines 00:42:19 Motherwell 1-0 Kilmarnock 00:44:56 Copenhagen v Kilmarnock  00:47:29 Spartans 1-0 Ross County 00:48:07 Aberdeen 1-0 Queen's Park  00:50:52 Dundee 6-1 Airdrie 00:52:17 Scottish League Cup quarter-final draw 00:56:52 Man United 1-0 Fulham 00:58:25 Everton 0-3 Brighton  Love Scottish football as much as we do? i highly recommend you like, share and subscribe to Scottish Football  Radio  Show Matchday On Youtube

Transcript

00:00:00Welcome to the Football Show on PLZ Soccer's YouTube channel. I'm Peter Martin, Alan Ruff,

00:00:13Alison McConnell and Tam McManus here with me in the studio. Don't forget to hit that

00:00:17subscribe button on PLZ Soccer's YouTube channel. We really value your support over last season

00:00:23and going into this new season where there's lots of content. We'll look back over the

00:00:27Premier Sports Cup and the results that take eight teams into the quarter-final stage of

00:00:32the tournament. We'll discuss those results and of course all the major talking points

00:00:37as well. Some cup shocks that we predicted on Friday. You can give us your thoughts as

00:00:42well and if you download the PLZ Soccer app you'll get all the breaking news at your fingertips

00:00:47and that news includes of course the referee Matthew McDermott in the firing line for his

00:00:54performance at Hampden. Certainly caused a fair bit of consternation. We'll hear from

00:00:58Craig Levine and Philippe Clameau after Rangers knocked St Johnston out of the cup. Brighton

00:01:03have made an official approach for Matt O'Reilly of Celtic. Talks ongoing at the moment and

00:01:10we'll also be discussing what happened in the English Premier League. So, lots to get

00:01:16our teeth into. I think when you look at all the ties that we were predicting there was

00:01:21a few shocks in there and let's be honest about it. I think it's fair to say Spartans

00:01:27definitely a shock. Falkirk maybe not as much but still we called it. Yeah we did, fair

00:01:33play to you. You did say Spartans to beat Ross County and I looked at you as if you

00:01:36had three heads but you got it right and I fancy Falkirk to beat Hearts. I think Falkirk

00:01:4140, 42 games I think unbeaten in league games. You know won the first two championship games.

00:01:46I think they've got a really talented squad of players. Hearts at the start of the season

00:01:49really poorly. Stephen Naismith's getting to the neck already from the Hearts supporters.

00:01:54It just shows you how short the grace period was. He was in for a running for player of

00:01:58year and now you've got people on social media thinking he's not the person to take Hearts

00:02:01forward. It's mental. I think the Ross County one is a huge shock. Fair play to Spartans.

00:02:07You've had a great start to the season as well. Dougie Samuel's done a fantastic job

00:02:10there and Falkirk Manhattan got a great tie at Parkhead. Yeah absolutely. Here's the results

00:02:15from the weekend. Did you predict any of them correctly? Spartans won Ross County

00:02:19nil. Dundee thumped Airdrie 6-1. Falkirk 2, Hearts nil. Aberdeen 1, Queen's Park nil.

00:02:25They left it late, the Dons. Rangers 2, St Johnstone nil. Motherwell 1, Kilmarnock nil.

00:02:31And Dundee United 1, St Mirren nil. And they're Celtic comfortably again defeating Hibernian

00:02:35by three goals to one. So lots to get our teeth into. I mentioned that Alison and Ruffy

00:02:41are here with me. Tam obviously wants to be known as Elsie during the programme because

00:02:45he's just come out of the Witness Protection Scheme. Yet again, puts a post out on Twitter

00:02:51and then runs away because he's scared of the implications after it Ruffy. Yes, he's

00:02:56up there, he's throwing it out there for a bit of response. Not the response he probably

00:03:02wants. Absolutely fantastic. That's what you've got to do if you want to go on that platform

00:03:09and start putting your head above the parapet, Alison. We have all been there. Yeah, absolutely.

00:03:14You and Karen Ramsey, we will remember that. Although to be fair, to be fair, the strongest

00:03:20you got, what was the strongest one you got? They were fairly strong. I'm about questioning

00:03:27my very existence. Yes, there was a few belters in there, but not as bad as the madman here.

00:03:32But nevertheless, lots to talk about and I think, you know, the one that certainly caused

00:03:37a fair bit of consternation because quite simply, Rangers 2, St Johnstone. Now what

00:03:41did you make of it? What did you make of the performance of Matthew McDermott, the match

00:03:45official on this one? Because quite simply, Ruffy, there is a debate going on. St Johnstone

00:03:53have asked the SFA if they can hear the audio from the referees recording because they want

00:04:00to know if the whistle, as their players have claimed, was blown, that stopped their players

00:04:07playing on for a foul that Dessers, they believe, committed. But Dessers continued, put the

00:04:15ball in the back of the net. Greg Etkins says you'll need to go to review it with VAR because

00:04:21we think eventually when you're holding back and you've called it a no goal, we think you've

00:04:25made a mistake. And he goes to the VAR, changes his mind, gives the goal and all hell lets loose.

00:04:31Yeah, I can see why all hell would break loose with St Johnstone. I've watched it three or four

00:04:37times. Whether he's blown the whistle or he's not blown the whistle, VAR have overruled whatever

00:04:42decision he was. No, the referee has overruled on the basis that he's got. Yeah, but I don't

00:04:46think the St Johnstone players stopped. I think they did. Did you? I disagree, I think they did.

00:04:50They might have threw up their hands, but they didn't stop them from getting a tackle in and

00:04:54shooting at the goal. I think he was through. It wasn't a foul, correct? Yeah, I don't think

00:05:00it was a foul. Did you think it was a foul? No, I thought the boy slid in and probably

00:05:04stood on his foot. If the referee blows a whistle for a foul, it's going to get overruled

00:05:09with VAR anyway once they have a look at it. It's a goal. I don't think there was any question

00:05:13about whether or not it was a foul. I think people were fairly unanimous that there hadn't

00:05:17been a foul. The issue comes with the fact that he appears to gesticulate to award a

00:05:22foul. Whether or not he's blown, you're not going to know, because even if he's got the

00:05:26whistle in his mouth, he might not have blown. I'm not too sure, Ali, that everybody agrees

00:05:31with you on that. I think there's some people thinking it was a foul. I think there was

00:05:34a general consensus that there wasn't a foul. I think the question is, did the referee go

00:05:39to stop the game? I'm not sure, Peter. I think that it wasn't a foul. I'm not so sure. I

00:05:47don't think they stopped. I don't think they stopped either, if I'm being honest. The boy

00:05:53on the left-hand side was nowhere near desperate. Even if he thought he'd stopped, he wasn't

00:05:58getting him anyway. I think even if you just play, I don't know what they heard, Peter,

00:06:02but you just keep playing. They play out. For me, I'm not so sure. I thought it was

00:06:07a goal, to be honest. I don't see anything wrong with it. Obviously, St Johnstone will

00:06:12be disappointed if some of their players are saying they heard a whistle, then they're

00:06:15right to ask for the audio. Here's what Craig Levine made of it all. I thought it was a

00:06:21foul for us. I thought that Jack had been tripped by Dessars and that's why Jack was

00:06:25on the ground. That's why Dessars still had the ball. So I thought, there's no danger

00:06:31here. They're going to rule this out because Jack's been fouled. That was what I thought.

00:06:38Everybody stopped because of one or two things. Either they've stopped because they heard

00:06:43the whistle or they've seen the referee giving us a free kick. Then, of course, what makes

00:06:51it worse, because the players are then really frustrated and say stuff to the referee, they

00:06:56end up getting booed. First of all, he's wrong there because it wasn't a foul. It was a foul

00:07:04on Dessars. It wasn't a foul. If I could dissent what he's saying is, first of all,

00:07:13if there's no whistle, once we get that cleared up, the SFA are adamant in their statement

00:07:19released that there was no whistle. They say the whistle was blown after the goal was scored.

00:07:26The other aspect of it is, did the referee make a move to point that it was going to

00:07:33be a foul? Did he make that move? I thought he did. Right, so there's one aspect of it,

00:07:38secondary to that, the attitude of everyone should be, you play to the whistle. You play

00:07:44to the whistle. Then at that point, we're all dissecting, is it a foul? Everybody's

00:07:50got their opinion on that. Then, eventually, Dessars, rightly so, continues and thinks,

00:07:56well I'll put the ball in the back of the net and let that passage of play take its

00:07:59course. Then you make your call. There's too many things in there to dissect. Even after

00:08:05the fact, Craig Levine might get what they call him saying, by the way, there's the audio,

00:08:09I've heard it, there's no whistle. But we have seen him gesticulate and we think our

00:08:14players stopped. It doesn't matter. The whole thing has been, the referee has been prompted

00:08:18then to go to VAR and he's changed his mind. So that whole process has got too many fault

00:08:23lines for me. Yeah, it has Peter and fair play to Dessars for just playing on and putting

00:08:28it in the net. I think the strikers always do that. Even if you think you're offside,

00:08:30you just put the ball in the net anyway and you never know. Defenders don't. They want

00:08:35a foul. They're looking for a foul, they're looking for a whistle to try and stop the

00:08:38play. So fair play to Dessars. I think it's a rumble on and on. I don't think there was

00:08:45any doubt that Rangers deserved to win the game. I'm not taking away anything from the

00:08:49decision but Rangers totally dominated the game and should have had it won by half-time.

00:08:52They missed umpteen chances to go and win the game comfortably. St John's Small pointed

00:08:58that as a big call in the game. But for me, the best team went through.

00:09:02Now the other thing about this, it was a nice little finish from McCausland just to

00:09:07end it and send Rangers through comfortably in the end. So they deserved their win. That

00:09:13other part of it, whether we get a definitive out of it that pleases St John's is neither

00:09:18here nor there because they're out of the cup.

00:09:20Yeah, they're out. I'm right that Rangers dominated the game. I thought St John's had

00:09:26a wee chance in the last minute at the back post where the boy could have made it a wee

00:09:31bit more anxious, maybe into extra time. But they got the goal obviously at the right time,

00:09:37eight minutes into the end of the game. So on a whole, yes they deserve to win. You can

00:09:43see where St John's is coming from but it's not going to change anything. They're gone.

00:09:46Yeah, the big area here which will change is quite simply that Willie Collin will have

00:09:52to assess the overall performance of Matthew McDermott based on those faultlines that we're

00:09:58talking about. Whether the process was followed properly, whether he did gesticulate to the

00:10:04players and they picked it up. He should still play to the whistle in my view. But all of

00:10:09these things, and again St John's will have to hear that there was no whistle.

00:10:14Yeah, I think they'll be nursing a sense of grievance today. They'll be sore. I think

00:10:19I would agree on the whole, I think it's inarguable that Rangers were the better team

00:10:24across the entirety of the 90 minutes. But I think that moment will leave them feeling

00:10:29frustrated, just the manner in which it came about. Certainly, I was at the game, I did

00:10:34think he gesticulated, I did think he had blown. I can't hear of it. I definitely think

00:10:40he stopped. He made a sign with his hand, I don't know whether he's pointing to that

00:10:44point or the goal or whatever. The ultimate out will be play to the whistle.

00:10:50Yeah, absolutely. Lots and lots of people talking about it, Rangers got the 2-0 win

00:10:54in the end. There's a fair bit of fallout, and I'll come to you in a minute Tam on this,

00:10:59but there's a fair bit of fallout, Ruffy, on the size of the crowd. Now, people can,

00:11:07you know in memes and fans alike, they like a noise up with each other. Quite simply,

00:11:13I think there is, I'm just going to offer this to you, you can agree or disagree, I

00:11:18think there's an apathy among Rangers fans. Disappointment with what's been happening

00:11:22with the way the Ibrox-Copeland road end is being fixed. I think there is an overall feeling

00:11:28that they don't like Hamden. And let's put it in perspective as well, a lot of people

00:11:36are skint, and a lot of these things are not on the season ticket. So, they're looking

00:11:42and they're saying to themselves, what do you think Ali, 20,000 there? I would have

00:11:45guessed there or thereabouts around 20,000. There wasn't an official attendance given

00:11:50on Saturday, but I think it was probably less than half full. I would have estimated around

00:11:5620,000. I have to say, it's hard, we're in the main stand, so you're not seeing the view

00:12:00that you're in, but my guess would be around 20,000. Yeah, and Paul has said, what about

00:12:07from the Rangers players and management after the game? He thinks it was a joke. A lot of

00:12:13people were, well, I know somebody said to hear 50,000 at Celtic Park, skint. The demand

00:12:20at Celtic Park is quite simply because they're winning league titles. There's a waiting list

00:12:25at Celtic Park, which is, there's so many people that know they're never going to get

00:12:29a season ticket, they've been waiting on it for five or six years, so the demand there

00:12:32is incredible. Equally so, the demand after Steven Gerrard won the league from Rangers

00:12:38fans was incredible, and as you know in Glasgow, Tam Second is nowhere. It was a strange thing.

00:12:44This is what Philippe Clameau said about the celebration after the game.

00:12:49It's something that was planned, because that group of supporters was there Tuesday also,

00:12:58and they stayed after the game also to stay positive, to support the players, to support

00:13:06the club. So I think it's a normal thing from our side to show that respect towards them also.

00:13:13Tam? Yeah, listen, I can get both arguments, Peter. I think that he's trying to create

00:13:19some sort of siege mentality with the squad. Everyone's against us, we need to prove people

00:13:24wrong. We're not as bad as people are making out. Let's go and thank the fans, let's try

00:13:28and bring everyone together. A lot happening off the pitch at Rangers that the supporters

00:13:33are not happy with. Let's make sure we do the job on the pitch, keep the fans behind us. The

00:13:37guys that are coming, paying their money, we go and give them a clap at the end of the game.

00:13:42I get all that, Peter, but at St Johnstone in the second round of the League Cups, Glasgow

00:13:47Rangers Football Club, for me, you go and say thanks and then you get off. It's a game you

00:13:51should be winning anyway and you get up the tunnel. So for me, I didn't agree with it,

00:13:56but I can understand Rangers supporters think, well, he's trying to create a bond between the

00:14:01fans and the players. So I get that side of it as well, Peter, but my opinion, I thought it was a

00:14:05bit cringe. That's just my opinion. What did you make of it, Ali? You were there. I would probably

00:14:10concur. I think it was manufactured. I think it's an attempt to show unity, to bring people together.

00:14:16I think you get moments like that when clubs are disaffected, when there's been a break between

00:14:23the club support and the team. I think it was just deliberate to try and engineer

00:14:29this show of solidarity, but I thought it felt a bit over the top. It felt quite twee,

00:14:35given the fact that the stadium was half empty and you were going over to a small section of support.

00:14:42I think this is a competition that Rangers won last season. It's a competition they should be

00:14:47expected to go deep into. That's the first round that they've participated in. I thought it felt

00:14:53engineered and over the top. Does it matter, Ruffy? Or is it just a case of... I mean,

00:14:59there were some Rangers fans and some Rangers pundits and former players who've been looking

00:15:05at that and thinking, really? No, I think Alisson hit it in the head. It's a bit of unity.

00:15:12Tam says all the things that are going on behind the scenes. I think the manager knows that they've

00:15:17won massive, big, bad result away from the whole thing exploding. So you have to try and keep

00:15:22everybody on board. Some of the supporters aren't happy with the board. They're not happy with the

00:15:27stand. They're not happy with Hamden. So when something like that happens, you've got to do

00:15:32something to show... I think it was embarrassing. If I was a player there, I'd have felt awkward.

00:15:37I'd have felt a bit awkward jumping over a thing with a small group of fans. But they've got to do

00:15:44it. They've got to do it because there's so much happening away from what's happening on the park

00:15:49that you've got to do something to make the supporters believe that, OK, just hang on in

00:15:54there. We'll get it right. And doing something like that, he thinks is going to solve that.

00:15:58It's on the park. It's results. As Tam said, beating St Johnson isn't a great result. If they

00:16:04were to beat Celtic in the next game, they can all jump out of the hordes and go to the supporters

00:16:09and be quite rightly so. It's interesting, isn't it? I think when Celtic were experiencing similar

00:16:15turmoil, they came up with the huddle. Players came up with the idea of the huddle. I think

00:16:20Andy Walker had said at one point one of the ideas he had was them all walking out

00:16:24hand-in-hand as a show of unity. And then that was kiboshed when Tony Mowbray came up with the

00:16:28idea of the huddle. But it came around in similar circumstances. It came around as a show of

00:16:33solidarity, of unity, of let's be one and in it together. And obviously that has prevailed now

00:16:41till modern day. It's very much a part of the fabric of the club.

00:16:47You can see the thinking behind it and you can see why you get to that point. It's just whether

00:16:52or not the uptakes around it were suitable for what it was you were trying to create.

00:16:56Yeah, absolutely. Ruffey, none of that for you, son.

00:17:01After the game against Brazil, it was just get Zico's top and get off the park as quick as you

00:17:05can. That's another thing I don't understand. I understand in the modern day when they go into

00:17:12Europe or something and they get beat 3 or 4-0 and they walk around the park clapping. I just

00:17:17don't get that. I really don't. You've just been beaten, handsomely beaten, knocked out a cup. Why

00:17:23are you going around clapping? Clapping the supporters because I've made the effort to go

00:17:26there but I would be down the tunnel. It's damned if you do, it's damned if you don't. But Peter,

00:17:30if you don't do that, the supporters will go, we've paid our money to come up here and they've

00:17:34not even acknowledged us. And if you do it, you get slagged. That's both sides of it.

00:17:39I have to say, at that point alone, last season there was a game, well last season I think there

00:17:47was a big game, Rangers Celtic, and the Rangers players went up to some of the Rangers fans

00:17:53and all you could see in memes for about four days was Rangers fans going, no you.

00:17:58And you're thinking to yourself. Was that in the aftermath of the speech?

00:18:02It could have been. I don't know. I'm with you, Raffy. You've won the game, great.

00:18:10I do wonder how much of it's a modern thing.

00:18:12It is a modern thing, Ali.

00:18:14With social media and TikTok and Instagram and Twitter and everyone's on these platforms

00:18:22continuously and your life is almost broken down into these 10 second clips that you're posting

00:18:30an idea of something that's maybe not reflected in reality. But I don't know if it's just about,

00:18:37for a certain generation, that you celebrate your dinner on the table.

00:18:44I can just imagine, Ali, your family at the stage they're at now going,

00:18:49oh well done, Ali. What about this? Tatty's in Minsk for the third night in a row. Brilliant,

00:18:54well done, Ali. Because I know you can tell you right now, my daughter certainly wouldn't be

00:19:00applauding any dinner that hits the table. It's just get it done.

00:19:03Don't mind if they're putting in the right good effort and you've been beat with the odd goal

00:19:07and the players can see that you've put in. But I mean, go back to the Scotland-Germany

00:19:11game. Did the Scottish supporters go over to the supporters after that game

00:19:15in the Euros there? I can't remember.

00:19:17I think they probably did.

00:19:19Listen, you're right, Ali. You've nailed it. It's a modern day thing. And to be perfectly honest

00:19:23with you, realistically, I think you hit the nail on the head, Tam. Rangers deserve to win.

00:19:29That part, I can understand where Craig Levine is absolutely furious with the whole thing. He used

00:19:35some classic Craig Levine industrial language before the real pressure started and the questions

00:19:40were asked. But I can understand why he's peeved with it. At the end of the day, success,

00:19:48supply and demand, when you're successful, when you win things, the demand is there from

00:19:53supporters. Right now, there's been a lot of negativity around certain parts of Rangers.

00:19:59A lot of people are thinking, I'm not going to Hamden, you know, end of story. And there's a

00:20:04lot of people getting wrapped up in whether they're all in a line celebrating St Johnson.

00:20:09If it was me, as a supporter, I'd be more wrapped up with who's playing well, who looks the real

00:20:16deal, who's just not cutting it. Are we going to get signings in? For me, the only one that every

00:20:23time I see him since he joined Rangers, I wondered whether he was going to be a good signing.

00:20:27Certainly not as instrumental as I think he is. I like him as Barron. I like Connor Barron because

00:20:34he's picking the ball up, he's driving forward, he's looking. He's a midfielder that plays forward

00:20:40passes, Tam. Yeah, and it just shows you that there is players out there at other Scottish

00:20:45clubs. Rangers have neglected that for a long time, in my opinion. They used to do it a lot.

00:20:50They'd go and sign the best players for Dundee, Dundee United, Hibs, Hearts, whatever.

00:20:53They don't seem to be doing that now. Out of all the signings, they got him for nothing,

00:20:57free. I don't know if it was a tribunal or whatever it was, but they got him for next to

00:21:02nothing and he's been their best signing. The money they've spent over the last two seasons,

00:21:06your Danilos, your Dessers, the Lammers, guys like that. A guy comes in for another Scottish

00:21:11club and he's been really, really good. The Rangers supporters have taken to him straight

00:21:14away because he's hungry. He looks as if he's wanting to get on the ball and create and make

00:21:18things happen. I think he's been a really, really good signing for Rangers. Yeah, absolutely, 100%.

00:21:24Okay, that's Rangers and their win. It was top of the bill because it was a fair bit of,

00:21:31well, anger and certainly talking points in that match that we discussed. Elsewhere,

00:21:37Falkirk, two, Hearts, nil. I was there, Ruffey. It was, I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed the game.

00:21:45Hearts should have been out of sight within 20 minutes. Yeah, first 15 minutes, hit the bar,

00:21:49a couple of good saves. I just thought Stevie's team selection was a wee bit naive.

00:21:56Going to a place like Falkirk, who were on a bad run, leaving Shankland on the bench,

00:22:01changing and giving a couple of new guys a game who weren't really up to speed. But

00:22:06saying that, you obviously thought they were good enough to go along there. But all credit

00:22:10to Falkirk. They weathered the storm, got the goal at the right time and thoroughly deserved

00:22:15the win. Yeah, absolutely. And John McGlynn, you just, at the end of the game, you just couldn't

00:22:22hide his delight at the way his team had gone about their business.

00:22:26The boys were magnificent. Cannae praise the players enough. They just turned out performance

00:22:31after performance after performance. So, yeah, absolutely delighted with them. They've got to

00:22:35take all the praise. They're out there doing the business. Hearts, early doors, probably had two

00:22:40or three good opportunities, hit the bar with one goal. He's made a couple of saves with his leg.

00:22:44Nicky did really, really well. Delighted. Delighted with our defenders. They got a clean sheet against

00:22:48a team like Hearts who got a lot of attacking options. The whole defence did really well.

00:22:54I thought Brad and Dylan were excellent in midfield. Dylan gets up to get the second goal

00:22:58after Alphys put some pressure on the goalkeeper. So, yeah, I'm absolutely delighted. Delighted to

00:23:03be in the draw. Yeah, and at the end of it all, Ali, I thought they deserved it. Yeah, I thought

00:23:09so too. I've only seen highlights of it, but I thought so too. I thought Craig Gordon had a

00:23:14couple of really good saves too. I think, judging from what I did see back, I think if Hearts had

00:23:20taken the chances they had in the opening minutes, I think they would have gone on and won the game

00:23:24comfortably. As it is, you're always at risk if you don't take the chances. And against a team like

00:23:29Falkirk, confidence is high. There's a belief about them. It's a game where essentially you've

00:23:34got nothing to lose. You can go and have a go. I thought they were worthy of their place and

00:23:39worthy of the win. It invites a bit of pressure now on Steven Naismith. It's not been the best

00:23:44of starts for Hearts. I think it just puts them under a wee bit of pressure when it's seen in

00:23:49the context of the opening couple of weeks of the season. Yeah, and let's take nothing away because

00:23:53sometimes you do get a situation where you start to look and think, well, Kevin's going to be about

00:24:00Hearts and how they didn't play. But once that 20 minutes had passed, Tam, I'm watching this

00:24:05slowly but surely, they started to move the ball about. There was a confidence about them.

00:24:09And of course, Ross McIver could have had two goals in the bag, but for Craig Gordon,

00:24:15made two great saves. Yeah, Craig was outstanding on the day. I think, as the guy said, the first 20

00:24:20minutes, if Hearts go 1-0, it's a different game. But I thought Steven made eight changes.

00:24:27Not for me. I think Hearts can win two things this season. League Cup, Scottish Cup. I think

00:24:30you play your strongest team. You don't chop and change. And I think if he had that back,

00:24:35looking at the result, I think he would play a stronger team. Well, on that point,

00:24:38when he put up the board and was taking off Yandanda, they booed. This was his reaction to that.

00:24:47Fans are going to be disappointed, you know, winning a cup tie and a cup tie that your

00:24:50favourite's to go through in. So they're going to be. I didn't think, as the game went on, we then

00:24:55started making wrong decisions. Too many balls into the goalie's hands, giving up too many fouls,

00:24:59which then kills the momentum and ultimately that second goal. Yeah, they were booing. If I could

00:25:07offer a defence of Steven Naismith, is some Hearts fans who clearly are not Steven Naismith fans,

00:25:16boo him. Everybody's entitled to their opinion. You know, I've seen some people, you know,

00:25:23with ludicrous statements saying, get him out. This is a guy who, you know,

00:25:30got this team to third in the table, slowly but surely building a team. And we are, as a nation,

00:25:38now getting to the point where people are saying after three and four and five games,

00:25:43is a manager under pressure? It is absolutely ridiculous. I mean, I am of the opinion that

00:25:51and Budge and the rest of that board, you know, are a sensible lot. Just let the manager get on

00:25:57with his job. Yeah, but I don't think he's under any pressure. You know, I know he's got a big

00:26:01European game coming up this week. I think in hindsight, he'll probably look and say, as Tam

00:26:05said, I should have made eight changes. This is a tough place to go. He's through guys in there who

00:26:11haven't been in this kind of cup experience. All of a sudden, they've won nothing down.

00:26:16And you're looking for possibly some experienced players to react to that. I think the new guys

00:26:21who come in, get shocked that they were behind and just couldn't dig themselves out of it. So

00:26:26I think in hindsight, I think the only thing you could maybe have a wee go at was his team selection.

00:26:31Yeah, absolutely. You live or die. In some games, they'll probably look at it,

00:26:36maybe assess it, maybe think not the right thing to do. In the end, when they were trying to chase

00:26:41the game, they just didn't look as if they were going to get that goal back. And then Falkirk just

00:26:47raced up the park with about nine minutes to go. The icing on the cake with Dylan Tate, so great

00:26:52for Falkirk to get into the next round. We'll talk about that quarterfinal draw shortly. Your

00:26:57Hibbies again, off the back of last week's defeat in the league, suddenly in the League Cup. Celtic

00:27:04again, just early on, dismantling Hibs. Yeah, it was similar to Easter Road. You've got to keep it

00:27:12tight against Celtic. You've got to keep it tight for 20-25 minutes and then try and get into the

00:27:17game, losing the early goal again. And you're thinking, this could be a doon. 2-0, they get

00:27:23the goal back with Kukerevic, great header. And then I thought they played okay in spells. Once

00:27:29the third goal goes in from Kuhn, which is a nightmare for Hibs at the back, the big centre

00:27:33half, Marvin and the goalkeeper. I thought he'd just put his foot through it. He's left foot,

00:27:37he tried to open his body to go out the other side. It was a dreadful goal to lose when Hibs

00:27:41were still in the game at 2-1. That was the game finished. But I saw little bits of,

00:27:47shoots of recovery from Hibs. I thought they played well in spells. Celtic back-to-back is a

00:27:52nightmare start for any team out with the Old Firm. They've got Dundee on Saturday, they've got

00:27:56Camarnock and then they've got St Johnson. So, two of those games at home. Camarnock's straight

00:28:00off the back of playing Copenhagen at home. So, they've got three games where they should be

00:28:04taking, in my opinion, seven, nine points. If they do that, they're back in the pack.

00:28:09If they don't, then David will be under increasing pressure.

00:28:16Not from me, but from the supporters. You spoke about hearts. There's Hibs fans who didn't fancy

00:28:23David Green. They're thinking, I'm right, I was right, we've had a poor start to the season.

00:28:30Hearts are the same. Stephen Naismith, a lot of people, not Stephen Naismith fans,

00:28:33jumping on him right now because they're in a bad run. That's what happens with supporters.

00:28:38I think you can look at it logically and say, from our perspective, it's preposterous to be

00:28:43under pressure so early. But the reality is, it's supporters that apply that pressure. It's the noise

00:28:48that builds up around managers and around clubs. I think the other thing about it, Rafi, is it's

00:28:53weak-minded board members who listen to supporters. You have to stick by. Can you imagine when we got

00:29:01together all those years ago? I'd say to you, Rafi, you've got seven weeks to make a valid

00:29:09point. I stuck with you until year nine. It was eight weeks before I had an opinion.

00:29:16Eight seasons, eight weeks. Stephen Naismith isn't under any pressure. He's our best team in Scotland

00:29:26and playing the most attractive football. Okay, he's at a bad start. I just unfortunately, at

00:29:32Hibs, think with this owner, Faye Boremouth, hanging about, I don't think he's going to suffer.

00:29:37You're saying seven out of nine. Say it's only two out of nine. This guy will have something to

00:29:43say about it. I'm not saying he'll sack him, but he'll certainly have something to say about it.

00:29:48Well, I'd like to see a number of board members. Hibs have backed David Gray.

00:29:55They've brought players in. I still think they need time to gel. George Robertson's having

00:30:01none of it. Tam McManus, open your eyes. David Gray will get one month, if you're lucky.

00:30:07P.S. Hibs are still paying you. George has been angry since the programme opened.

00:30:12It's all capitals as well. If George had put five exclamation marks in there,

00:30:20you were in trouble. Nevertheless, I would say, yes, they've backed him.

00:30:27Surely, to God, you've got to let teams gel. He's signed about nine or ten players as well.

00:30:33I don't think he's under any pressure. I know what Hibs supporters are like,

00:30:36I know what Hart supporters are like. You go three or four games without a win,

00:30:40you look on social media, get them out. It's mental.

00:30:44As I said, they've got a run of games now before they play Rangers at Hampden.

00:30:48They've got Dundee at home on Saturday, which is a big game for both clubs. Dundee have started

00:30:51really, really well. If Hibs want to get in the top six this season, I think they'll have to finish

00:30:55above Dundee. I think Dundee will be thereabouts as well. Then they've got Camarnet on the following

00:31:01Sunday after playing in Europe, and then St Johnstone at home. So they've got three good…

00:31:05Seven or nine points to still look good.

00:31:08By the way, remember this as well, and I'm going to point this out to you, Ali,

00:31:14because we are guilty of it and we'll take it on the chin. Yo-Yo Heed here was writing a column

00:31:21and coming on this programme last year, sack the manager, back the manager, sack him.

00:31:26No, I'm nowhere near the sack at the minute.

00:31:30No, I mean, I hope not.

00:31:31Give him a couple of weeks.

00:31:32Yeah. The other aspect of it which I'm looking at is, Ali, Celtic… This is the strangest thing ever.

00:31:39Celtic domestically just look like a well-oiled machine that I cannot see anybody laying a glove

00:31:46on them. But we're on the 19th of August, Ali, and we're getting mightily close to a lot of Celtic

00:31:54fans losing their head.

00:31:56Yeah, it's been the story of the summer that Celtic haven't yet recruited heavily. Obviously,

00:32:02they've brought a couple in, Ida, over the line last week. I think there'll probably be

00:32:10a couple more before the end of the window. I think you could look at Celtic just now and say,

00:32:15even if Matt O'Reilly goes next week or before the window shuts, I think Celtic just look head

00:32:23and shoulders above anything else in the league. They've picked up domestically where they left

00:32:28off at the end of last season. I think there's no one that you would look at, I think, that will

00:32:34lay a glove on them. I think domestically they have enough to go and win the title without

00:32:39barely breaking sweat. There's a big question mark over what that means when it comes to

00:32:44Champions League when they kick off this new format, guaranteed eight games in the tournament

00:32:49that will take them to the end of January. It'll be interesting to see if there are players who

00:32:53come in who add a bit of quality to what's already there. Players that might elevate

00:32:58performances in a Champions League level, but as we have spoken of repeatedly, how difficult

00:33:03that is to do. Well, of course, you and I disagree vehemently on this. Many things.

00:33:14So there's no point in me wasting 10 minutes of the programme on something that I think

00:33:19we're going to deal with the manager's words on it, Ruffey. He's got a dilemma on Kyogo because

00:33:24Kyogo, if he takes the operation on his shoulder, will be out for four months and that's a dilemma.

00:33:30This is what Brendan Rodgers had to say about Kyogo

00:33:40after the game. Surgery takes him out for probably about four months. It's only he who can decide

00:33:46that because a lot of time he gets through the games fine. He's a 29-year-old man now and he

00:33:51understands what he wants to do. He has managed it for a long time. So losing him for four months

00:33:58would be a huge blow with Champions League group stage coming up, Ruffey. That's a big dilemma.

00:34:04I don't think Kyogo wants to make that call. I don't think he is, but the most obvious question

00:34:10is why didn't you shove him in when the season finished? You know, if he's got a shoulder injury

00:34:15as soon as that last game of the season, you put him in for surgery. I don't think he wants the

00:34:19operation. I think that's the problem. I mean, I've never had a shoulder injury. I don't know

00:34:23how sore it is when you get it pushed back in. I don't know how often it's liable to pop out and

00:34:28what kind of danger you're under. It's not like ligaments or cartilage or anything like that. So

00:34:34you're right, at the age he is, maybe he says, I can put up with it. Well, he's had it even when

00:34:39he was playing in Japan. I think it's a very personal decision that he's opted not to have

00:34:43the surgery. I think Celtic would have been delighted to have it addressed prior to now,

00:34:48to have it properly dealt with. It's obviously been a long-standing issue that he's managed

00:34:53for the entirety of the time that he's been in Glasgow, but I think he himself doesn't want

00:34:57the operation. I wonder how sore it is, Tam. The only person I can ever remember with a bad

00:35:01shoulder injury was Officer Riggs in Lethal Weapon 2 when he used to scalp it back in.

00:35:11OK. But other than that, if it's no problem to him then get on with it. The biggest problem

00:35:19I think everybody is looking at here, and Brendan Rodgers is saying there's a lot that they need to

00:35:24do. I am convinced nobody will tell me otherwise unless suddenly the window shuts. Matt O'Reilly

00:35:31will be sold shortly, Brighton are in talks, they've made a formal bid, so they want him.

00:35:38Atalanta have apparently pulled out now, so Brighton are in there. Celtic will sell Matt

00:35:43O'Reilly. Brendan Rodgers says there's a lot of work they need to do. He would like two new

00:35:47midfielders if Matt O'Reilly is sold. We've already talked about Celtic, I think, are a

00:35:54striker short and are they a left-back and a centre-half short. Brendan Rodgers, after the

00:36:00game, says I'll need to speak to the board. There's a lot of work going on and there's lots that we

00:36:05need to do, but for now it's about the players that are here. He keeps putting messages out every

00:36:12week, Peter. He needs players, he needs quality players. They're going to go into September,

00:36:17into that Champions League and they need a squad to go and play on both fronts. He keeps putting

00:36:24the message out. I'm sure there's hard work going on behind the scenes in terms of getting players

00:36:28in. I agree with you, I think Matt O'Reilly will go. I think with Brighton coming in now,

00:36:35a club like that with a lot of money, I think they will probably sign him if they come up with

00:36:40the money. I think it would go to Brighton, I think it would go to the Premier League

00:36:44and then you're needing two in and then you're needing a striker. I think you're needing a

00:36:47centre-half, a left-back and there's no sign of anybody at the minute, Peter. So Brendan's

00:36:51probably getting more texture the closer we're getting to this window because he knows he needs

00:36:55players in. Listen, the only other thing I would say on the matter right now and I'm going to

00:37:01hold off and I'll weigh up and I'm quite happy to let Ali have her say on the whole situation

00:37:09with transfer windows and European Championships and the difficulties of signing a player,

00:37:14Ruffey, and all of that claptrap. Because quite simply, that's the same squad that wasn't good

00:37:21enough in last season's Champions League and right now, listen, you talk about people being skint,

00:37:28talk about people who are shelling out lots of money to see Celtic domestically untouchable.

00:37:36European-wise, not so. No, I think if O'Reilly goes and there is no evidence that the players

00:37:44that use are talking are coming in, I think Brendan Rodgers knows that although they are

00:37:48playing particularly well and they're winning games, he's near enough going to suffer the wrath

00:37:53if O'Reilly goes and Rangers get a draw. Oh hell, they'll break loose if no players come in.

00:37:59He'll know what's around the corner if nothing happens so he has to put pressure on that board.

00:38:04We don't know what's going on behind the scenes. They might be negotiating with three or four

00:38:08players as we speak but if none of them materialise, I don't think the supporters will accept it.

00:38:16Big pressure on you, Ruffey, September 1st on the show. You're going to have to be

00:38:20opinionated. I can't be the only one getting barred. You've got to go too,

00:38:24haven't you Ali? No chance of Ruffey doing that. Too nice.

00:38:32Listen, you can give us your view. What do you make of it all? As a footballing side against

00:38:38Hibs, Tam, they really are a well-oiled machine. I can't see anybody touching them domestically.

00:38:45Their quality, Peter, I think you've seen in flashes. They've got competition in wide areas

00:38:49now. Mahida's back as well. Kuhn looks transformed from last season, pre-season under his belt.

00:38:54I don't think he wasn't fit last season. He looked miles off it last season. He's come in and he's

00:38:58had a great start to the season. Started really well in pre-season, into the league, looks good.

00:39:02James Forrester as well. Mahida coming in to put pressure on Kyogo. There's competition

00:39:08in that front area and I agree. I don't see anyone stopping Celtic from possibly doing another travel.

00:39:14Yeah, Ruffey? Middle of the front, bang on. Defensively, Hibs still had a wee sneaky. When

00:39:20they come up against a really good side and put them under pressure, that's when unfortunately

00:39:25the trouble starts. You're not going to be scoring goals all the time. You've got to defend

00:39:30properly against proper big sides. Absolutely. Just one little footnote, Ruffey. Kuhn scored a

00:39:36goal, obviously the Hibs goalkeeper made a complete back end of it. Foul for two goals,

00:39:41yeah. Craig Gordon did the same against Falkirk. Can a goalkeeper not use their head now and say,

00:39:48listen, I know you want us to play this out at the back all the time. How about I just launch it

00:39:53and stop us losing a goal? Yeah, it's drummed into them now. They want to keep possession of the

00:39:58ball. If you watch them before the game, the goalkeepers getting warmed up. They warm up with

00:40:04their feet, they're not warming up with their hands. They're practising their touch. Watch it

00:40:09when they're warming up. They're passing to each other. I think you have to give credit to the two

00:40:14forwards for chasing them down. Kuhn ran into the boy, didn't he? Tam said he tried to get it on

00:40:21his left foot, but forwards are too sharp for some of the goalkeepers. Yeah, Kuhn ran into him as

00:40:26well. Let's leave it at that. If it's near it, a big hi to Alfredo Morales. Anyway, more to come

00:40:44from us after the headlines. Welcome to your daily news update brought to you by Arnold Clark. I'm

00:40:49Patrick and here's your top stories on the 19th of August. St Mirren are out of the Premier Sports

00:40:54Cup after a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Dundee United. Speaking after the game,

00:40:59Stephen Robertson says his key players from last season have to step up. Some boys that had,

00:41:04so to speak, chips in the bank from last season need to step up. We need performances to improve.

00:41:08Motherwell also booked their place into the last eight with an extra-time victory

00:41:12over Kilmarnock. In attendance at Fir Park was free agent Ryan Jack,

00:41:16but Stuart Kettlewell has pushed down any speculation joining him at the club.

00:41:21No, I think Ryan should maybe take him in a game. I'm not too sure about that.

00:41:24The Premier Sports Cup quarterfinal draw took place last night, which has drawn Celtic

00:41:28against Falkirk Dundee. They'll travel to Hamden to take on Rangers. Aberdeen will host Spartans

00:41:34and Motherwell will face off against Dundee United. Those fixtures will take place

00:41:38across the weekend of September 21st and 22nd. That's all of your headlines brought to you by

00:41:44Arnold Clark. Yeah, thanks to Patrick Mullan. If I was

00:41:49Ryan Jack, I'd get a ticket for Real Madrid and go and watch them as well and just send

00:41:53the whole thing into another stratosphere because he can't move without being linked with a team.

00:41:58I think he's maybe just happy to go out the house and watch a game of football.

00:42:01He's maybe demented in the house. No, I think he's just going to watch games. I think that there's

00:42:06no doubt for me Ryan Jack's good enough to go and play for any of these clubs that he's

00:42:11Motherwell. I think he'd be looking for maybe a bigger club than them, no disrespect, and

00:42:16possibly going abroad. I think he's just going to look at games to watch.

00:42:19Here's an interesting point that was made by Derek McInnes. Motherwell 1, Kilmarnock 0,

00:42:24Ebbie Moses scoring the goal for Motherwell. The Killie boss reckons that with their European

00:42:31campaign, when they come back domestically, a lot of managers and teams will fancy taking

00:42:37something off them. Tiredness, so it's a good time to play us. I see Simona out of the cup as well.

00:42:43We're having to deal with a schedule at the minute that we're not used to as players and

00:42:47as a club. We're not complaining about it because we'd rather have the schedule, but it does make

00:42:53us a bit more vulnerable. Sunday to Thursday is a bit easier, clearly, because you've got those

00:42:58extra days, but Thursday to Sunday after travelling, two away games, back-to-back,

00:43:02it's always a wee bit more of a stretch. It's a predominant feature, Ruffey, that clubs,

00:43:10especially on the evidence of what we've witnessed over the last 15-20 years, Thursday to

00:43:15Sunday is proving to be difficult. I think it's difficult for the likes of Simona and Kilmarnock

00:43:20because they don't have the same pool of players. They don't have 30 players to call on, no first

00:43:25team players, whereas you should think the Rangers and Celtic, when they're playing in Europe,

00:43:29should have enough pool players to take over. I think that's where they're struggling. I can't

00:43:36give any experience of playing in Europe and travelling home and the first team playing on

00:43:40the Sundays. As a goalkeeper, it wouldn't have bothered me. Maybe Tam, being an outfield player,

00:43:44would know the travelling kind of thing, but at any time, I travelled abroad and came back and

00:43:48played on a Saturday. I never had any problem with that. It's difficult. I've done it a few

00:43:53times, Pete, at different clubs. Hibs and Dunfermline and playing in Ireland. I think

00:43:57it's difficult. I think it's a lot to do with the travelling. I think away from home. At home,

00:44:02you're fine. You can get back to your own bed. I don't think it's a big issue. Away from home,

00:44:06you're travelling. You're in Norway or wherever you are. You get on the flight after the game.

00:44:09You're maybe not training the next day. Then you're back in for a light session.

00:44:13There's not a lot of training going on, Pete. It's just rest and recovery. Derek's right,

00:44:16it is a good time to play. Kilmarnock is a good time to play. St Marnes, both those results bear

00:44:20out. There are probably a few tired legs in there. They've maybe got 12, 13 guys they can really rely

00:44:27on. The rest, he's maybe not sure about putting in, but he has to. Kilmarnock are one tie away for

00:44:35mega money. £5m, £6m. They're playing Copenhagen. They're massive underdogs.

00:44:40You never know. I think once Kilmarnock and St Marnes get through, I think you'll start to see

00:44:48them come out the table, Pete. I think it's difficult at the minute. I will be cheering

00:44:54for Ruffey. In fact, I'm almost certain, let's have a wee bit of a... If Kilmarnock get into the

00:45:02Europa League... £5m, £6m, massive. I'm wearing a Kilmarnock top on the programme. I mean,

00:45:07you've got to. It would be magnificent. Not that it's any slight on anybody. Would that be the

00:45:15same if Rangers got into the Europa? Alison said she'd be a Rangers fan.

00:45:25I wasn't volunteering anything. They're in it, they're in it, Ruffey. So that's Bond.

00:45:34That was lucky. You talked yourself into a mess there. I don't know why I did that. I was just

00:45:42trying to show a bit of solidarity for Derek Mackinnis because I want them to get in. By the

00:45:47way, realistically, that sort of money is changing. That's how I wanted Hearts to get in

00:45:54and they lost to Zurich. The money would have been phenomenal. I think that's what you need.

00:45:59You bring those kind of resources in and all of a sudden it just gives you a platform to go and

00:46:04build on, to attract better players. That kind of money can be transformative for clubs. I have to

00:46:11say, I think Copenhagen will be a really tough ask. Realistically, when you look at it, I think

00:46:17it's probably a step beyond them. I hope I'm wrong, but I think so. If they can stay in the tie,

00:46:25Alison, away from home, they can get them back to Camargo. If they even get a draw or a narrow

00:46:29defeat over there, they can come back. I think Copenhagen are also a really seasoned European

00:46:32team too. You look at the recent seasons that they've been in, I think well into their season

00:46:40two, up and running. I think it's a very, very difficult ask to see Colmar not coming through.

00:46:46I hope I'm wrong. I'd love to see them go on and progress too, but I just don't know that

00:46:51realistically you would give them a fighting chance. On the evidence of it, all that feel-good

00:46:55factor that was around St Mirren that hasn't completely and utterly disappeared, but certainly

00:47:00brought back down to earth with a bump, with a Dundee United win again. I think the fans have

00:47:05enjoyed so much of what's been happening in Europe. I don't think it will hinder,

00:47:09nor the manager, nor the players. I think they'll just get back into league cup mode.

00:47:13They've been very, very good there. Good stadiums, been full at home. I think you'll be a wee bit

00:47:18more relaxed. You'll be disappointed because this cup always opens up an avenue for one of the

00:47:23smaller clubs to get quite far in it. If you go quite far in it, you can raise a lot of money.

00:47:28Yeah, absolutely. Spartans, I did mention to you, Tam, I just had a wee feeling that at that ground

00:47:34they could do something a wee bit special.

00:47:36That's an incredible result for them, the League Two club beating a Premiership team in the cup.

00:47:40It's a huge result. Dougie Samuel's been there for years. He's really been there, a pillar of

00:47:46community as well. They're a community club, Spartans. Delighted for them to get through.

00:47:51They've obviously got a tough tie in the next round, but just getting through and beating

00:47:55Norse County is great for them. Great header for Blair Henderson in the seeding of the game out.

00:48:01A real shock for a club like that, but fantastic for everyone at Spartans.

00:48:07Aberdeen left it late, Topi Keskinen with the goal,

00:48:10and Jimmy Tolleen well happy with his goalscorer's contribution.

00:48:15I don't think about the transfer fee, I think about the players.

00:48:20It's always nice when a new player arrives and they can make some impact, but

00:48:24it's the first game and you should not put any pressure on him, step by step. I'm really happy

00:48:29he can win a goal and get us through to the next round. That was good.

00:48:37He's such a feel-good factor around Aberdeen. He's been transformed, hasn't he? They'll be

00:48:43buying merchandise non-stop, he's pulling in players and suddenly if they all come in and

00:48:47make contributions like that, Aberdeen will not be bottom six like they were last season.

00:48:54I think he can feel the sense of expectancy around the club. I think it's been a really

00:49:00good sequence of results to open his campaign this season and to open his chapter at Aberdeen.

00:49:08But you can sense the optimism, you can sense the belief amongst the Aberdeen fans who are

00:49:15buying into what he wants to do, and the players. You can see that the players

00:49:18are also buying into what he wants to do. I'll tell you where else they're buying

00:49:21into what the manager's doing. Tory, Docherty, Dundee, they've thumped Aberdeen.

00:49:25Yeah, they've carried on from last year. We made a couple of good signings, obviously,

00:49:29Simon Murray. I don't think he's taken as many loan players on board this year as he did last

00:49:35year. I think he's stated that, that's the way ahead last year was to bring in loan players,

00:49:41but this year he wants to bring in people who are going to be there for two or three years.

00:49:46Again, we're hanging on there. Is there any truth in the wee midfield boy? I got his name

00:49:53wrong the last time. Luke McCown, yeah. I think there's a couple of teams sniffing about him.

00:49:59Is the money at the right time? Does the player want to move? It'd be interesting to see if

00:50:03somebody just throws something in there. A mullion pounder, by the way. Yeah, I think

00:50:08he's a Celtic player, because that was a wee sniff. I'm really impressed. I just don't know

00:50:15if he's the kind of player that can move on to another level. There's a lot of players who've

00:50:19came through Aberdeen, Dundee, Hibs and that, went into Rangers and Celtic, and it's not happened.

00:50:25Particularly at Celtic, I would wonder where he would step in there. He's not another Matt O'Reilly.

00:50:32He's playing at that level against those kind of players. In the Scottish league,

00:50:38he's been one of the players that's impressed me more over the last two years.

00:50:42It'll be interesting to see where on the 19th of August, players coming in and out. You can give us

00:50:47your view on that, but certainly when you look at what Tony Docherty is doing with Dundee,

00:50:56it's absolutely fantastic the way they've gone about their business. As you can imagine,

00:51:03the manager's well happy. If you'd told me we'd run out six 1-1ers, I'd have bitten the hand off

00:51:09you. I just think it shows the quality of the team. That side's now scored 29 goals in seven

00:51:13games. I think if you're a Dundee fan coming to watch, you're really enjoying watching the team.

00:51:17I'm enjoying watching the team. Even at that, when I see them in the dressing room, they're angry.

00:51:22They're actually angry that they lost a goal there and didn't get a clean sheet.

00:51:2528 goals in seven games?

00:51:26I know, but not only that, but from record.

00:51:28You're talking about a partnership that Aberdeen, Derek Mackinnis and Tony Docherty, great,

00:51:33then suddenly he decides he wants to go on his own. Really, they're getting the best of both

00:51:39worlds. What Derek achieved at Kelly's Magic, but Dundee now have been rewarded with that

00:51:44match against Rangers. Now we're really going to see, we're going to get a wee taster of

00:51:49what they're all about.

00:51:50Yeah, that's a tough tie for Rangers. I think Dundee are playing really well at the minute.

00:51:54I think a lot of people were surprised that Tony Docherty got the job. I think he came out of left

00:51:58field. I think there was a lot of names and the bookies were putting their usual suspects up and

00:52:03he wasn't one of them, but he's come in and he's done a fantastic job there. They've got goals in

00:52:09the team and they play Hibs next as well, which is great.

00:52:12Yeah, absolutely. You need that like a hole in the head. You won't know who to jump up for when

00:52:16the ball hits the back of the net. Rangers, Dundee, Celtic, Falkirk, Aberdeen, Spartans

00:52:21and Motherwell Dundee United. If you were picking a game there, Ali?

00:52:26I think Motherwell Dundee United will be fairly competitive and Rangers Dundee too. I think the

00:52:30fact that, I was going to say it's at Ibrox, but it's a home tie, a Hamden tie for Rangers.

00:52:37But I think Dundee will go and try and give a decent account of themselves. Falkirk get their

00:52:42payday, the trip to Celtic. But yeah, I think Motherwell Dundee United should be fairly

00:52:49competitive. Tony Watt against his former? I don't know if we're allowed to play.

00:52:54Yeah, no we won't. Oh yeah, as a loan. Yeah, there might be a stipulation of a loan. He can

00:53:00certainly play a League Cup. And when he come on, you know, I think the majority of people

00:53:06were very complimentary about Tony Watt coming back. I mean, I like him as a player and I like

00:53:12him as a person as well, but you know, much misunderstood I think. But I think roughy

00:53:18players nowadays, they move on, they go for money.

00:53:21He's not a troubled soul, no. Well, I do think, you know, at times you look at him and you think

00:53:26to yourself, he never settles anywhere, but I've got no qualms with people moving on because

00:53:31roughy, you would have moved on three or four times if you had the opportunity. Yeah, I don't

00:53:35have a problem with what happens to him off the park, as long as when he walks onto the park on

00:53:39a Saturday or whenever and he scores goals. As a supporter, as a Motherwell supporter,

00:53:44that's what I'd be worried about. I wouldn't be worrying about if he doesn't settle here,

00:53:48doesn't settle there. As soon as he puts on that Motherwell jersey, walks on the park,

00:53:52he scores goals, that's good enough for me. Yeah, absolutely. As you know, roughy, I always

00:53:56try and read out as many messages as possible because we always like a bit of banter, a bit

00:54:01of decency and of course if we get pelters, we take it on the chin, Tam, to be perfectly honest

00:54:08with you. I'm not sure about this one though, this Travelling Scotsman says Rangers have booked

00:54:13an open top bus if they beat Dundee in the next round of the cup.

00:54:19You know, seriously roughy, there's some people who just, they're taking chances. If Tam put that

00:54:27out on the Twitter, he would never see him for about three months. I'd be the boat with the

00:54:32Clyde. I'd be the wife of the Rangers fan, she'd do it. You've come back off the ropes this weekend,

00:54:42haven't you? Aye, my wife says I have to stop slagging Rangers, so I have to put a sock on it,

00:54:46so I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Well, if there's any chance, one of the biggest problems that we do

00:54:51have is people who don't have an opinion. If for the next couple of weeks you could send your wife

00:54:55in, at least we might get some decent opinion out of her instead of what you're offering us at the

00:55:00moment. I know you mentioned that at the start of the programme, Ali, I was worried and I think

00:55:05you're right. Anyway, thanks to so many people who are putting their messages, it's only a game.

00:55:11We love the beautiful game, we love a noise up, but let's see how the quarter-finals go.

00:55:16Where's the shock coming, Ruffy, for you in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup?

00:55:21It's not going to be Aberdeen, it's not going to be Celtic, it's going to be Rangers. I think

00:55:26Rangers will be too strong. The Motherwell, Dundee, United one can go either way, so that's

00:55:31not really a big shock, so I don't think it'll be a shock. So your four are Celtic, Rangers,

00:55:35Aberdeen and? Motherwell. Tony Watt, Drebbel. I don't think he'll be allowed to play. There's

00:55:45no chance he'll be allowed to play, there'd be nothing better. Tony Watt would be running like

00:55:49a madman. There's no chance he's going to play. I agree with Ruffy, I think Motherwell home

00:55:53advantage will be United. Interesting. Ali, are you going against the Green? No. Same four? Celtic,

00:56:00Rangers, Aberdeen and Motherwell. Give us your thoughts on that, give us your opinion on it.

00:56:08A couple of things we want to talk about before we say farewell to you. I hope you're enjoying the

00:56:13chat, the opinion, the humour and of course the interaction with you as well. Don't forget to hit

00:56:18the subscribe button on our YouTube channel. We've got lots of things coming up, a few competitions

00:56:23for you to get involved in as well. We'll be giving away some prizes and a chance for you to

00:56:27share our stories and share our content to your friends and hopefully they'll join the football

00:56:34family here at PLZ Soccer. Certainly if you download the app you'll get all the breaking

00:56:38news at your fingertips and all that video content as well. Give us your last four in the

00:56:46semi-final stage of the Premier Sports Cup. Do you think it's going to be the four that we've

00:56:51all mentioned? As far as down south is concerned, it was interesting, it all starts, it all kicked

00:56:57off with a hype on Friday night. I watched the Man United-Fulham game and I missed the goal

00:57:03at the end, Ruffey, because I fell asleep, it was dull. It is, they've gone through a transitional period

00:57:09but the fans will be happy with a win and hope they can build on that. It remains to be seen

00:57:15can they build on it with the likes that's going on at all the other clubs. Take the win and then

00:57:21move on to the next game and just keep behind your team. Absolutely, we've got a few,

00:57:26we've got one Man United fan among us in our team, Tam, who certainly thinks they're going

00:57:32in the right direction. I'm not so sure, I can't see United finishing top four. Nah, not for me.

00:57:36You'll have your usual suspects, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and then

00:57:40I think Spurs will be in the top four because Big Ang's the man, the GOAT. Yes? Yes, I can't wait,

00:57:46I'm looking forward to the game tonight. Spurs have signed Sir Lanky as well, £50 million.

00:57:50Good signing for Spurs. For £50 million? Yes. Ruffey? I was disappointed in Chelsea,

00:57:58you know, at the weekend there. Man City just rolled out and did Man City, you know,

00:58:03Haaland, Ragdoll and a couple of defenders in the box to try and get the ball off and he showed a

00:58:09wee bit of skill at the end to put the ball in the back of the net. I think everybody was hoping

00:58:14Chelsea would be up top four, top five and be back to where they were but on that evidence

00:58:19at the weekend it didn't look as if they were. Yeah, absolutely. I'm just looking here,

00:58:25out of all the teams, if I'm thinking, God, I don't want Everton to get relegated but boy,

00:58:32they were well spanked at the weekend, Alison. Right, yeah, a hard start to the season for them

00:58:37on the back of a fairly tough time. Yeah, I think sometimes it can be hard if you don't get off to

00:58:44a good start. I just wonder sometimes if it sets an early tone for the campaign that you find it

00:58:49hard to get out the bit. I would say, I think the transfer window has been very slow across the

00:58:54board. There's still a couple of days, a couple of weeks left to go. I think you'll still see a

00:58:58bit of movement coming in between now and the end of the campaign but I do think if you start off

00:59:02poorly you can leave a hangover. Yeah, is it wrong for me to want West Ham to get relegated,

00:59:07Ruffey? Is that petty? I mean, is it petty? I ask you. Yeah, in a word. Because you make

00:59:11Moisey, Moisey. In a word, aye. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, Aston Villa, top four this season again?

00:59:18Nah, I think a bit of a bouncer in the Champions League bit which is, I think with Spurs not being

00:59:24in Europe, I think they'll finish in the top four. Okay, thank you so much to Alison, Ruffey

00:59:32and Tam. It's always good to get your comments as well. Listen, you don't necessarily need to

00:59:37watch it live but we like to read out a few messages. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Scott

00:59:41Allan with us on a Wednesday, Ryan McGowan on a Friday and let's not forget The Journos

00:59:47is on this week, the women's football show. Straight Talk will return. I'll be interviewing

00:59:53lots of interesting people along the way. I must just mention, Tam, I know you are out and about

01:00:00and you've got lots of fingers in a few pies with your work in football and Ruffey was on

01:00:05Maka's show, ghosting away with Frank McAbee last week. A bit of treachery from Ruffey.

01:00:12I ran it through the management before I did it.

01:00:18Well done, well done Ruffey, well done. We love Maka, Maka was great wasn't he? Do you remember

01:00:23the time when we thought Maka was going to die on the show? Yes, yes, yes, most definitely,

01:00:28I thought he was. I'll never forget the look on his face, Ruffey, as the painkillers for his sore

01:00:37ankle kicked in. And I looked at Ali and I thought, wow, I wonder how many clicks we'll get if Maka

01:00:45drops dead on the show. But thankfully your man survived, we love Maka. Anyway, did you enjoy

01:00:52being away in a different style with your old Maka? Are you leaving him? It was different,

01:01:02I'll tell you how different it was after. Okay, listen, thanks to Ali as ever, to Ruffey and

01:01:09thanks to Tam for coming up. I thought you were going to wear your camouflage gear so nobody could

01:01:16get you. Thanks to Tam as well. Don't forget, hit the subscribe button on PLZ Soccer's YouTube

01:01:22channel and of course, download the app because you'll get all that breaking news and all the

01:01:26content at your fingertips. Thank you to so many of you for downloading the podcast as well.

01:01:33Lots of people mentioned to us they're out walking the dog and then of course,

01:01:36just out for a wee jaunt with the earphones in, listening to our podcast as well. We really

01:01:42appreciate your support. So from everybody here, thank you for listening and watching.

Is the Philippe Clement building a 'siege mentality' at Rangers？｜ The Football Show LIVE

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Is the Philippe Clement building a 'siege mentality' at Rangers？｜ The Football Show LIVE