MX23RW : Tuesday, July 2 06:31:34| >> :120:64513:64513:

Five things we learned from the weekend's Scottish football action

Five things we learned from the weekend's Scottish football action
© Reuters
The Old Firm will play against each other in the Betfred Cup final, while Motherwell and Aberdeen battle for third in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Celtic and Rangers will meet in the first Old Firm cup final since 2011 after both teams cruised through their Betfred Cup last-four clashes.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the major talking points from this weekend's Scottish domestic action.

Steven Gerrard closing in on his first trophy win as a boss

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard could win his first major honour as a manager on December 8
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard could win his first major honour as a manager on December 8 (Jeff Holmes/PA)

No-one needs reminding of the Rangers boss' accomplishments as a player but here they are in any case – one Champions League winners' medal, a UEFA Cup winners medal, two from the FA Cup and three in England's League Cup, plus 114 caps for England. Now he is just 90 minutes away from claiming his first major honour as a manager after seeing his side crush Hearts 3-0 to book their place in the Betfred Cup final. However to do that he will have to break Celtic's strangle-hold on Scotland's domestic prizes come December 8.

Celtic have found another match-winner

View this post on Instagram

Into cup final☘️

A post shared by Mohamed Elyounoussi (@moielyo) on

Attacker Mohamed Elyounoussi scored a double in Celtic's comprehensive 5-2 Betfred Cup semi-final win over Hibernian at Hampden Park on Saturday. The Norway international has now scored seven goals in 10 appearances since arriving on loan from Southampton and has been a top player for Neil Lennon. Whether there is any chance of a permanent move to Parkhead is debatable and probably doubtful, but his presence can help ensure another successful season for the treble-treble winners.

Hearts have no time to waste in search for new manager

Caretaker manager Austin MacPhee could not guide Hearts to the Betfred Cup final
Caretaker manager Austin MacPhee could not guide Hearts to the Betfred Cup final (Jeff Holmes/PA)

Austin MacPhee was left to take command of the Jambos at Hampden after time was called on Craig Levein's Gorgie reign earlier this week. But the Northern Ireland assistant coach could do nothing to turn around what has been a dismal campaign for the Tynecastle team as they were overrun by Rangers. MacPhee will meet with Ann Budge on Monday morning to decide whether he will still be in interim charge come Saturday's visit of St Mirren but if the Hearts owner has any sense she will make an appointment as quickly as possible.

Paul Heckingbottom now in last chance saloon

Paul Heckingbottom's job as Hibernian manager is under severe threat after a poor run of results
Paul Heckingbottom's job as Hibernian manager is under severe threat after a poor run of results (Ian Rutherford/PA)

Hibernian's city rivals Hearts pulled the trigger this week as they fired Levein but Easter Road boss Heckingbottom remains in the firing line for many of the Leith support. His side had a free hit in Saturday's Betfred Cup semi-final with Celtic but slumped to a 5-2 defeat. Sitting only a point better off than the second-bottom Jambos, Hibs now have another huge clash with St Johnstone in Perth on Saturday but Heckingbottom – whose team have failed to win any of their last 13 games inside 90 minutes – might find himself staring down the barrel if he cannot turn his side's woeful run of form around.

Race for third place hots up

With Celtic and Rangers appearing to be locked in a two-horse race for the Ladbrokes Premiership title, the rest of the top flight are scrapping it out to be named 'best of the rest'. Motherwell currently lead the way after fighting off Livingston at Fir Park while Aberdeen sit just a point behind after beating 3-0 Kilmarnock, who could have leapfrogged the Dons had they triumphed at Pittodrie. With six months to go, there is certain to be more thrills and spills along the way.

ID:377348: cacheID:377348:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:16084:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Rangers' Alfredo Morelos celebrates scoring their third goal against Hearts on November 3, 2019
Read Next:
Steven Gerrard insists Alfredo Morelos is not for sale
>
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Tuesday, July 2
 
8pm
Friday, July 5
 
5pm
Quarter-Finals
Spain
vs.
Germany
Saturday, July 6
 
5pm
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!