ian1964

Kilmarnock have reassured fans over fears the clash with Rangers could be called off. Although Killie have a plastic pitch, matches can still be postponed if the surrounding areas of a stadium are hazardous due to ice. The Premiership encounter is a battle between second and third as Steve Clarke’s side attempt to overtake Rangers while Steven Gerrard’s men have their eyes on leaders Celtic. And the highly-anticipated match – set for a 7.45pm kick-off – is due to go ahead after a Rugby Park spokesman took to Twitter. Kilmarnock communications officer Scott McClymont said the game will receive the green light unless there are unforeseen events. Answering a fan on social media, McClymont posted: "Hi guys – no concern over the game whatsoever and the stadium environment is fine. "If for any reason this was to change then we’d make full announcements on our website and social channels." https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/kilmarnock-provide-update-rangers-match-13897184

'If this is the flagship league, which it is, we shouldn't have it': Brendan Rodgers makes a plea to scrap the plastic pitches in Scottish Premiership 9 November 2018 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6373853/Brendan-Rodgers-makes-plea-scrap-plastic-pitches-Scottish-Premiership.html

Scotland full-back Stephen O’Donnell has confirmed that manager Steve Clarke has warned himself and his fellow defenders not to lose their discipline if they are manhandled by Rangers’ mercurial striker Alfredo Morelos, but insists that his team-mates will have their own way of dealing with the Colombian when the clubs meet at Rugby Park tonight. O’Donnell argues that it would be remiss of the home rearguard not to attempt to goad the 22-year-old, who has a notoriously short fuse, into losing his temper. Morelos plays on the edge and has collected 22 yellow cards and been dismissed three times since he moved to Ibrox from HJK Helsinki 18 months ago and Rangers’ leading goalscorer is rarely far from controversy. “You see some of the stuff that happens and there are always wee niggly bits in games,” said O’Donnell. “He seems to be involved in more of them than most, but he also scores more goals than most. “It’s all about how referees manage games and, if the ref is fair to both sides, I couldn’t care less. It doesn’t make a difference. “I’m not a huge fan of the wee nasty bits you can get in games. One of my best mates – I won’t say who – nearly ripped my arm off last season. I had cuts all over it but that’s football for you. “I don’t do it too much but sometimes you get a wee bit of red mist and I’ve been known to have that myself; you can’t judge people too much. “Morelos has obviously been under scrutiny with the stuff in the Celtic game, but he’s a top player. It’s not up to me or our gaffer to manage Alfredo Morelos, it’s up to Steven Gerrard. I’m sure our centre-backs will maybe try and provoke him.” O’Donnell also disclosed that he deliberately reacted to a flailing arm from Motherwell’s Curtis Main at Fir Park on Boxing Day to ensure that the burly target man was shown a red card. “I maybe went down a bit theatrically but he had tried to crack me right in the face and missed,” he said. “Then he came in lightly and I made sure he was going off because he shouldn’t have done what he did in the first place. “If that happens, I will be prepared to stand my ground if I need to. But that’s just football; you come up against it every week. This game is no different.” Should Kilmarnock manage to beat Rangers for the third time in 13 months, they will move above them into second place and, if Celtic drop points against St Mirren for the second time this season, the Ayrshire club will return to pole position in the Ladbrokes Premiership. The consistency Killie have displayed under Clarke has the squad dreaming of European football and more, as O’Donnell attests. “The brilliant thing about the Premiership this year is that there are four teams up at the top and there’s not that big a gap to fifth,” he said. “It’s exciting with things to play for and we’re going into a run of games which is really important for where we want to finish and how we want to compete. “When February comes it’ll settle down a bit more, but I think the next month will really shape our season. We’ll see whether there is genuine optimism and a real opportunity to achieve something great, whether that is in a cup or the league. “Obviously we are a bit wounded with Greg Stewart leaving [for Aberdeen] and that’ll make it more difficult for us, but we have players on the bench and even in the stand who can do a good job. “We usually find a way and, when the chips are down, we come out fighting.” https://www.open-goal.co.uk/odonnell-confirms-clarke-has-warned-him-and-his-killie-team-mates-to-be-wary-of-morelos/

There is an argument that the team that beat ST Pats should start this match, Goldson is out but I don't see many other changes

Hasn't half stirred up the ST Pats fans, you need to check the replies out

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard will see overhyped Brendan Rodgers off the premises – James Black Our Ibrox blogger believes Celtic boss won’t be able to handle the pressure as he faces his first real test. Finally, competitive football is back. After three weeks of manufactured outrage over referees, half-baked conspiracies and Celtic fans insisting Rangers can't afford to sign Jermain Defoe before the club promptly confirmed the signing of Jermain Defoe, the winter break is at an end. Steven Gerrard takes his side to Rugby Park to face Kilmarnock tonight as they look to push on and launch a sustained title challenge. While I'm sure many will want to argue otherwise, there's very little pressure on Rangers to go on and lift the title and end Celtic's recent dominance. The merest mention of 55 has the majority of non-Rangers fans scoffing at the suggestion and insisting we'd be lucky to finish within 15 points of Celtic. If you listen to some Celtic fans they'll even tell you Rangers might be lucky to finish third this season. There's even some who will tell you that they will win 10 in a row - unless the SFA intervene of course. The reality is, all the pressure is on Celtic. Seven titles on the spin. Seven out of the last seven domestic trophies currently reside across the city. A squad of world-beaters managed by the greatest manager to have ever managed Reading. How can Rangers possibly stand a chance with a rookie manager in charge? Well, for a start, Rodgers simply doesn't live up to the hype. His time in Scotland has largely seen him up against a Rangers side with one hand tied behind their back and an Aberdeen side happy to finish second by 30 points. For the first time, he's facing a proper challenge and the pressure is starting to show. Tactically, he's nothing special. If teams press them high then they don't know how to react. Too many teams sit off, give them the ball and let them carve them open at will. When teams like Hearts have got in their faces and chased every ball and really pushed Celtic deep in their own half, they get the better of them. The business done by both sides in the transfer window has also shown the difference between the two. Gerrard has brought in two guys who have plenty of experience of the highest level and will push standards on at Ibrox. Rodgers has brought in a bunch of kids - talented kids - but kids who have never experienced a battle for a league flag. Timothy Weah and Oli Burke will probably go on and have good careers somewhere but they aren't the sort of players who you're going to turn to in a bid to win the league. Steven Davis has been there and experienced both sides of it. He's done the last-day celebrations and felt the heartache of losing the title at the bitter end. Add that to guys like Allan McGregor and Kyle Lafferty who were there beside Davis or Gareth McAuley and Scotty Arfield who have fought for titles and battled relegation. There's a level of experience at Rangers that simply hasn't been there for far too long. Some of the longest-serving Celtic players have been over the course too and will be vital for Rodgers but he hasn't given them the reinforcement needed. The imminent signing of Matt Polster will be a bit of a wildcard for most but I've seen a lot of him over the past four years. I've followed the Fire since 2013 and have travelled over to watch them in Chicago. He's someone Gerrard knows from his time in MLS and the American will likely only be a fringe player when he first arrives. Given time, he's got all the attributes to be a really important player but having barely played in over a year will need time to get back up to speed. Obviously, the Old Firm win in December will be a huge psychological boost and Rangers need to capitalise on that and pick up a solid run of results to kick off 2019. The remaining two Old Firm games will be absolutely vital to the determining who ends the season as champions and with Gerrard's side having the monkey off their back now, they will go to Celtic Park in March with renewed confidence they can beat them on their own patch. Gerrard's far from perfect and he'll be the first to admit so. There have been times where his substitutions have seemed either weirdly-timed or just not really making much sense and his tendency to tinker with the central defenders has arguably cost some cheap goals. As long as they don't implode and have a strong end to the season, there won't be a massive amount of complaints if Celtic do win the title. But if Gerrard can lead Rangers to 55 then his old Liverpool boss is finished in Glasgow. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-boss-steven-gerrard-see-13895668

Going gets tough now for Rangers as management trio fly out on mystery signing triphttps://fourladshadadream.blog/2019...agement-trio-fly-out-on-mystery-signing-trip/

When will ST Pats FC be sited/fined & charged for releasing a statement slating the ref? has this been forgotten about?

Scottish Cup fifth round draw in full Ross County vs Inverness Hibernian vs Raith Rovers Kilmarnock vs Cowdenbeath/Rangers Hearts vs Auchinleck Talbot St Mirren vs Dundee United East Fife vs Partick Thistle Aberdeen/Stenhousemuir vs Dundee/Queen of the South Celtic vs St Johnstone

Killie v Rangers/Cowdenbeath

Geg Wylde also starts

Surprised not to see Rossiter game time! anyone know why?