Rangers legend says boss needs ‘proper backing’ in January, former Celtic star gets surprise World Cup call-up

It may only be the middle of December but there are currently just five rounds of Scottish Premiership fixtures remaining before the January transfer window opens.

Rangers face St Mirren and Celtic take on Ross County this weekend in what will be the final round of games before domestic football goes on hiatus and the FIFA World Cup finals take centre stage. The league returns on December 15 meaning the next month should provide a good opportunity for clubs to do some scouting and prepare for the transfer window. Ahead of this weekend’s matches, here are some of the key headlines involving Celtic and Rangers on Friday, November 11:

Rangers legend says boss needs ‘proper backing’ in January

Former Rangers skipper Barry Ferguson believes the Ibrox side did not recruit well enough in the summer transfer window and that head coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst needs ‘proper backing’ by the board in January. Writing in his column for the Daily Record, Ferguson commented: “It’s about time they gave him some proper backing in January and the best possible chance at turning this campaign around before it really collapses.

“There’s just no getting away from the fact that recruitment hasn’t been good enough. Antonio Colak apart, we’ve yet to see any of the other summer signings make an impact and they can’t afford a repeat of that when the winter transfer window opens in seven weeks’ time. I’m not saying they need to burst the bank but they have to make sure the new faces coming in improve the starting XI and give both the punters and the players the lift they’re crying out for. Gio is the one taking the flak right now but he’s not solely responsible for the signings.”

Former Celtic star gets surprise World Cup call-up

Several current and former Celtic players will feature at the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar, which kick off this month, but one ex-Hoop is a name that supporters may be surprised to see at the tournament. Olivier Ntcham, who turned out for the Parkhead side between 2017 and 2021, will be heading for the Gulf state but it won’t be with the country of his birth who he represented at youth level. The current Swansea City star was born in France and represented the nation an impressive 20 times at U21 level but never earned a cap for the senior men’s team.

Earlier this year, the midfielder changed allegiances and earned two caps for Cameroon in friendly matches against Cape Verde and Rwanda. Those two appearances must have been enough to impress national boss Rigobert Song who has included the 26-year old in his squad for the finals.