Friday's Scottish Gossip: Celtic, Europa League, Rangers, Scotland, Hearts

Brendan Rodgers admits Celtic lacked belief and courage as they crashed out of the Europa League against Zenit St Petersburg. "We were much better than them in the first leg and, if we had played with a little bit more courage and belief, we could maybe have got a result," he said. (Daily Record), external

Rangers must seize the opportunity to pile the pressure on Celtic this weekend by beating Hearts at Ibrox or talk of a Premiership title challenge is over for another year, according to former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson. (Daily Record), external

Scotland manager Alex McLeish will attempt to use Sir Alex Ferguson's influence to land Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay - who is also eligible to play for England - for the national side. (Scottish Sun), external

Craig Levein is more worried about Hearts forward Steven Naismith's hamstring than he is about any stick Rangers fans might give their former player ahead of Saturday's Premiership clash at Ibrox. (Scottish Sun), external

Jason Holt has proved worthy of the captain's armband at Rangers on account of his form this season, says Ian Black, who was Holt's team-mate at Hearts. (Scottish Sun), external

Despite a "monster weekend" of Scottish Premiership fixtures looming, pundit Steven Thompson doesn't believe there is a genuine title challenge to Celtic. (The Herald), external

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson believes midfielder Allan Campbell is destined for a Scotland call-up. "Allan has played against John McGinn, Scott Brown and Graham Dorrans - the better players in the league," says Robinson. "He's done well in every game and when he doesn't play, we miss him. He's been an inspiration for me." (Scottish Sun), external

Hibernian head coach Neil Lennon says it would give Rangers an unfair advantage if his side have to travel to Ibrox for a third time in the league after the split. "It could give teams around us an advantage and certainly it would give Rangers an advantage." (The Scotsman), external

Scotland's top judoka Sally Conway, who made a winning first competitive appearance of the year at the Paris Grand Slam earlier this month, says it was "such a huge confidence boost". (The National), external