Rangers

Image source, SNS

Former Rangers captain James Tavernier made a winning start to his Maccabi Tel Aviv career after being immediately pitched in for a debut on Monday night.

Tavernier, 34, signed for the Israeli club - managed by former Ibrox team-mate Kenny Miller - earlier in the day before starting in the 4-1 victory at Hapoel Beer Sheva.

That made it three league wins from three for the club Tavernier has moved to after 11 years with Rangers.

The right-back stressed the importance of playing in front of a big support and fighting for titles after completing his switch.

"It is a great honour to join a club with history and tradition like Maccabi Tel Aviv," Tavernier said.

"Coming to a new country and getting to know a different culture and environment is something I have always wanted to do during my career, so I am very excited.

"I have heard a lot about the club from Kenny Miller, about the ambitions, about the desire to win titles and of course about the Maccabi fans and the atmosphere they create.

"After playing for years at a big club, I know how important the support of the fans is and how much it can give a boost to the team.

"Maccabi is a club that wants to win, to fight for titles, and that is exactly what you want as a player."

Image source, SNS

Rangers captain Lawrence Shankland, 31, will miss up to three months of action with a hamstring injury. (Rangers Review - subscription required, external)

Former Belgium player Philippe Albert questions why countryman Nicolas Raskin, 25, is still at Rangers. (Record - subscription required, external)

Frosinone president Maurizio Stirpe says he wanted to sell Celtic and Rangers target Fares Ghedjemis, 24, this summer but the club's American owners blocked a potential transfer for the Algeria winger. (Daily Record - subscription required, external)

Tuesday's Scottish gossip

Image source, SNS

Former Rangers goalkeeper Cammy Bell says the club's big-money signing Kevin Kelsy must step up in Lawrence Shankland's absence.

Scotland striker Shankland went off in the early stages of Saturday's 1-0 win over Motherwell, with manager Derek McInnes later saying it appears to be a "significant" hamstring injury.

Shankland was replaced by Ryan Naderi, who scored Rangers' winner against the Steelmen, but Bell believes it will be Kelsy - signed from Portland Timbers on deadline day for a reported fee of £9m - who McInnes trusts to lead the line.

"You pay £9m for Kelsy, so you naturally think that he's going to be the one that's going to come in," Bell said, speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"It's not an ideal scenario for McInnes and Rangers. They would have wanted to allow a little bit of time for Kelsy to find his feet in Scottish football and at Rangers. He's not going to get that now.

"Shankland's two goals against Falkirk were excellent and he had just started to find his rhythm. His injury offered the opportunity for Naderi to come on and he grabbed that goal on Saturday.

"But you'd think Kelsy is going to be the one that will have to step up to the plate and score important goals because you can't rely on Shankland for now."

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Scott Bain (Falkirk): Will he be Sebastien Pocognoli's Scotland number one? He did himself no harm against Dundee United.

Dujon Sterling (Rangers): Strong showing from the versatile defender in the weekend win over Motherwell.

Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic): Another impressive display at the back, winning 12 of his 14 duels in the victory at St Mirren.

Michael Forbes (Dundee United): Big goal to earn a point against Falkirk at Tannadice.

Jordi Altena (Hearts): A fine display at Tynecastle. Brave on the ball and at his best getting forward in the comeback win over Dundee.

Dan Neil (Rangers): Maybe his best game for Rangers since joining the club; good on and off the ball.

Jason Holt (St Johnstone): A 95% passing completion rate from the evergreen midfielder against Hibernian.

Yang Hyun-Jun (Celtic): Another goal to underline his growing importance to this Celtic side.

Camilo Duran (Celtic): Perhaps the signing of the season so far - the Colombian always makes things happen and proved his worth again in Paisley.

Josh Fowler (St Johnstone): Both goals to sink Hibs from the former Queen's Park man; on another day he could have had a hat-trick.

Djeidi Gassama (Rangers): A tremendous display overall from a player who might finally be finding consistency at Ibrox.

Striker Bojan Miovski, who had been linked with a move away from Rangers, issues a statement to clarify that he is not represented by any agent or football agency. (Glasgow Times), external

Besiktas will likely face competition from the Premier League if they renew their interest in Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin in January. (Football Insider), external

Read the rest of Monday's Scottish gossip.

Watch all the highlights as Ryan Naderi helped Rangers to a narrow victory at home to Motherwell. Available to UK users only.

Rangers fans, we asked for your opinions on the 1-0 win over Motherwell on Saturday afternoon. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Alex: It was a laboured victory but really should have been an easy 5-0 or 6-0. Poor finishing and last-ditch defending ensured a nervy final 10 minutes. Better defensive display but really need to convert the chances, especially penalties and open goals.

Greig: Will take the win but not a convincing performance, so many chances gone a begging. The final score should have been 4-0. The next step is to win by more than one goal as that game could have easily ended in a draw.

Graeme: Still not impressed by the performance. Djeidi Gassama was a bright spark. Better finishing and the game could have been won much earlier. Another injury just sums up being a Rangers fan right now - infuriating!

Sally: This was always the danger of bringing in Lawrence Shankland. As an older and more experienced striker he was susceptible to injury. Given time, Kevin Kelsey and Ryan Naderi might form a partnership. Woeful finishing will cost Rangers dearly.

Stuart: Better team performance with the players looking after each other. Should have been a comfortable win but if we keep making chances I'm sure the goals will come. I don't think the team have total faith in Emmanuel Fernandez, hopefully he can gain their confidence by improving his concentration levels. Let's hope this is the start of better times ahead.

Arthur: Rangers' three wins on the spin have all been unconvincing. Penalties, offside goals and sendings off all contributed to preventing the league being over in August. With Shankland and Youssef Chermiti out, a bleak winter of discontent awaits Rangers.

Image source, SNS

Rangers defender Emmanuel Fernandez feels the togetherness is building at Ibrox after a tricky start to the new season.

Derek McInnes' side made it three Premiership wins in a row with Saturday's 1-0 victory at home to Motherwell.

Rangers initially struggled under the new manager - a defeat in Europa League qualifying to Jagiellonia Bialystok was sandwiched between an opening day draw at Dundee United and a defeat at home to Hibs.

But Fernandez feels things are finally turning for the Glasgow club.

"I feel like the togetherness is getting better," Fernandez said.

"Maybe our performances haven't been better from the Aberdeen game, but as we've grown as a team, we've got that togetherness. And I feel like we're growing, and I still think there's more to come.

"Obviously we had a bad start not being in Europe. It was difficult. So the manager showed us that there's still three trophies that are available to win, and we have a domestic charge where we have the possibility of doing something great.

"I feel like him showing us that and showing us how we need to get the fans behind us is the positivity he has brought.

"And within the team, the togetherness, the leadership groups, the leaders within the group, is something that the manager has brought to the team."

The centre-back also shared his relief at the end of the summer transfer window, with the likes of Belgium midfielder Nico Raskin remaining at the club.

"Everything settles around the club," he added.

"All the anxiety of what's going on settles and I feel like that's where the team understands that this person is going to be beside them the next game, and this person is going to be here for the foreseeable future.

"And I feel like that's what you need as a team. Uncertainty over who's going to be here is a bit difficult."

Rangers' kit manufacturer Castore has received several takeover approaches and is considering a sale. (Sky News), external

Former Rangers midfielder Brahim Hemdani has been appointed Algeria manager. (Glasgow Times), external

Read the rest of Sunday's Scottish gossip.

Rangers made it three Scottish Premiership wins in a row as Ryan Naderi pounced on a mistake by Motherwell goalkeeper Alex Paulsen to score the only goal of the game at Ibrox.

MATCH REPORT

HAVE YOUR SAY

Image source, SNS

Rangers manager Derek McInnes: "We'd have taken any sort of win because we're up against a good team in form but I really enjoyed how many chances we created, I enjoyed the organisation of the team.

"We kept Motherwell really at arm's length for a lot of the game. They're a team who normally get a lot of plaudits for their creativity. We did both sides of the game really well, what we didn't do is just put the game to bed in terms of getting that second goal. It could've been a far bigger scoreline on the chances created.

"Really pleased with a lot of what we saw. Obviously, we've picked up a couple of little knocks, which is far from ideal. In terms of a better performance, it was there in spades."

Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson had agreed to join Rangers this summer, but the Ibrox club failed to put an offer to Bologna, according to father Derek, who does not think the transfer can be revived in January for the 27-year-old. (Open Goal, external)

Besiktas failed to meet the £20m fee Rangers were bargaining on for Nicolas Raskin and manager Derek McInnes thinks the 25-year-old Belgium midfielder must now concentrate on playing well to win a big-money move in January. (Daily Record, external)

Rangers manager Derek McInnes has promised to reveal more about the future of John Souttar early next week after a transfer away from Ibrox failed to materialise for the 29-year-old Scotland centre-half. (The Herald, external)

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, SNS

Deadline-day signings Venezuela striker Kevin Kelsy and Algeria winger Badredine Bouanani go straight into the Rangers squad.

Midfielder Dan Neil and defender Dujon Sterling return after missing the midweek win at Falkirk.

Left-back Tuur Rommens will return to full training in between the two upcoming Celtic games after recovering from a groin problem, while striker Youssef Chermiti is out long term with an ACL injury.

Motherwell remain without Johnny Koutroumbis, Oscar Priestman (calf), Paul McGinn, Callum Hendry (both knee) and Jordan McGhee (hamstring).

Image source, SNS

• Rangers' Lawrence Shankland has scored 10 Scottish Premiership goals against Motherwell, his most against a single opponent. Shankland has three goals in his last two league appearances, including a brace against Falkirk last time out.

• Motherwell have scored eight goals in four Scottish Premiership games this season, their most at this stage of a campaign since 2019-20 (also eight), last scoring more after four league games in 2005-06 (10).

• Rangers have lost each of their last three home league games, including one against Motherwell in April (2-3). Never in their history have the Gers suffered four successive home league defeats.

• After their 3-2 win at Ibrox in April, Motherwell could enjoy successive league victories over Rangers for the first time since April 1960. The Steelmen have won three of their last five away league games at Rangers (L2), as many as their previous 59 beforehand (W3 D7 L49), and could win successive visits for the first time in their league history at the 143rd attempt.

• Rangers have only won one of their last six league meetings with Motherwell (D3 L2), a 1-0 victory in December 2025.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Derek McInnes admits he took "a huge sigh of relief" when the summer transfer window closed and hopes it will bring "clarity and calmness" to Rangers.

In total, the Ibrox club signed 14 players, with striker Kevin Kelsy and winger Badredine Bouanani arriving on Thursday shortly before the deadline.

McInnes described this summer as the "longest window I've ever known" and is glad all the dealing is over for now.

"We all took a huge sigh of relief when the window closed," the Ibrox manager said before Saturday's Scottish Premiership visit of Motherwell.

"It feels like I've been to war, this window, to be honest, it feels like the longest window I've ever known and there's always so much to consider.

"We've managed to get a lot of what we were after but I think it's fair to say we never got everything we were looking for from the window. There's no manager out there that would probably get everything they wanted. We've got to be pleased that we've done so much work.

"We've got a strong squad, certainly strong in terms of numbers as well, then it's important now we just knuckle down and get on with the job in hand, because I think that clarity and calmness is so important for a club, but more importantly for a dressing room."

After the disappointment of their European exit, Rangers have won successive Scottish Premiership matches.

"The dressing room, over the last couple of weeks in particular, has been so strong and so together," McInnes explained. "It actually feels like a football dressing room, and the humour and the togetherness and how we work has felt far more like what I would expect my dressing rooms to look like, to behave like.

"That's important when you come through some adversity and obviously with some stinging results already. We've bounced back really well in terms of two tough away games. It's that sort of spirit and togetherness that helps you get through the tough times."

McInnes also believes Belgium midfielder Nico Raskin can play a key part in his dressing room. Amid two failed bids for Raskin from Turkish club Besiktas, McInnes "feels that his experience as a midfielder can help us in more challenges ahead".

"I just want the players not to waste their minutes," the manager added. "Don't waste your opportunity," McInnes said. "Don't see any day as a lazy day.

"You train professionally and you train as if you're trying to get in the team on a Saturday. So, with all that in mind, I feel also that having that togetherness, the window closed now, competition for places, hopefully those standards can be driven by each other every day."

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Rangers manager Derek McInnes is "disappointed" there will be no away fans at upcoming Old Firm matches this season.

The SPFL announced the decision after Celtic challenged the decision by their Glasgow rivals to give them just 300 tickets for the League Cup clash at Ibrox on 13 September.

For last season's Scottish Cup quarter-final, also at Ibrox, Celtic were given the traditional allocation of 8000 tickets but following crowd trouble at that game, a reduced figure of 2500 was agreed.

But in light of Celtic's decision to challenge the 300 ticket allocation, the league have decided to ban all away fans from the ground.

"Obviously it's disappointing," McInnes said after hearing the decision moments before stepping into his press conference.

"I don't know the club's position on it at the minute, I think it's more appropriate that the club speaks on it.

"It's always better when opposition fans are allowed into a derby game, there's still got to be behaviours met and obviously that's the decision that's been made.

"I haven't spoken to anybody at the club regarding that, so I can't really comment any more than that.

"Generally speaking, I think it's always better, in any fixture, in any game, if your supporters are there to be able to watch your team.

"In the context of everything that's gone on with this fixture and the last part of it, I think there's a lot to consider and a lot to discuss.

"As far as I was led to believe, that was still up for discussion so it's kind of caught me on the hop a wee bit."

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Rangers manager Derek McInnes says defender John Souttar's position needs to be addressed after the Scotland international remained with the Ibrox club beyond the transfer deadline.

Souttar, 29, had been linked with a move, with his current contract at Rangers running until next summer. He previously played for Dundee United and Hearts and has won 24 senior international caps.

"John was in that situation where there was a lot of things going on for him," said McInnes.

"It was kind of made clear that it would maybe be the best option for John to maybe look for something.

"Now that that's not materialised for him or the club, we just need to address that and see what's the best way forward.

"I've got my own views on that."

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Rangers manager Derek McInnes has been speaking to the media before his side's Scottish Premiership match at home to Motherwell on Saturday. Here are his main points:

• McInnes admits he's "disappointed" at the news there will be no away supporters at the upcoming Old Firm League Cup tie at Ibrox or this season's league meetings of Celtic and Rangers. The manager says it's "always better when opposition fans are allowed into a derby game," but "there's still got to be behaviours met and obviously that's the decision that's been made".

• On the transfer window, McInnes says Rangers have "managed to get a lot of what we were after" and hopes not to be as busy in every transfer window as the club "have to try and bring some sort of calmness and stability".

• The manager admits there was a bit of relief when the window closed on Thursday and says it's important to bring a bit of "clarity and calmness" to a club and they can "just knuckle down and get on with the job in hand".

• McInnes believes Rangers can "provide so much opportunity for players" and he wants everyone to "really commit to being here".

• The manager says the dressing room over the past couple of weeks in particular has been "so strong and so together". "It actually feels like a football dressing room and the humour and the togetherness," he added.

• McInnes believes he has "competition" in his squad and hopes it will "drive standards".

• On bringing in Stuttgart winger Badredine Bouanani on loan, the manager says he will provide quality in the wide right area because it has been a key position - and a problem position - for Rangers for a number of seasons.

• On Belgium midfielder Nico Raskin, who was the subject of interest from Besiktas, McInnes says "his experience as a midfielder can help us in more challenges ahead". Regarding not playing Raskin in European games earlier this season, the manager said it was not his decision, "it was a club decision to protect investment".

• On Scotland defender John Souttar, McInnes says the player's situation needs to be addressed after a move away did not materialise.

• Team news: Left-back Tuur Rommens should be back training before Celtic's visit next weekend. New attacking signings Kevin Kelsy and Bouanani both trained on Friday morning and will be in the squad to face Motherwell.

Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeness wishes winger Badredine Bouanani, 21, well for his loan move to Rangers from the German side. (Glasgow Times - subscription required, external)

Friday's Scottish gossip