Cypriot club to agree compensation deal with ex-Celtic boss and Rangers star admits to playing through pain barrier

Celtic and Rangers both advanced to the Scottish League Cup semi-finals after seeing off Motherwell and Dundee respectively on Wednesday night.

Ange Postecoglou’s side ran out comfortable 4-0 winners over the Steelmen at Fir Park, while an early Steven Davis goal was enough to help the Light Blues knock out the Championship outfit at Ibrox.

Here is a look at the latest news regarding the Glasgow giants today...

Cypriots to agree compensation deal with ex-Celtic boss

Omonia Nicosia have confirmed they will agree a compensation deal with Neil Lennon in the coming days as the former Celtic boss was sacked after just seven months in charge.

The Cypriot club called time on Lennon’s reign after a poor start to their domestic campaign which saw them sitting in mid-table.

The 51-year-old took the job in March and, within two months, had lifted the Cypriot Cup after beating Ethnikos on penalties and triumphed over Belgian side K.A.A. Gent to secure a place in the Europa League group stages.

Lennon came within seconds of holding Manchester United to a draw at Old Trafford last week and despite failing to pick up a point his side earned praise for the performance.

Club spokesman Andreas Dimitriou said: “With Mr Lennon we have achieved quite a lot and should be respected, but the decision was mainly due to the team’s continued competitive instability.

“We suffered four defeats in seven matches. These were the most basic reasons for making this decision. We sincerely thank Mr Lennon for his contribution and wish him every success in the future.”

McAvennie takes bizzare swipe at Hoops midfielder

Celtic legend Frank McAvennie has delivered a damning report of midfielder James McCarthy, insisting he needs to step up in order to compete with his team-mates for a starting berth.

After making over 250 Premier League appearances at Everton and Crystal Palace, the experienced 31-year-old joined the Hoops on a free transfer last summer, penning a four-year contract.

McCarthy was viewed as a replacement for Scott Brown but has been limited to just a handful of starts. McAvennie remains unsure how he fits into Ange Postecoglou’s side and reckons the player is not capable of standing in for sidelined skipper Callum McGregor.

He told Football Insider: “I don’t know what has happened to McCarthy, he is just lost now. Why they bought him I don’t know. I thought he was going to come in and be the holding player in midfield. I liked him, I thought he was a great player.

“Now, he doesn’t look fit when he comes on. He obviously isn’t match fit. I don’t know if they manager has sat dwn with him and told him there is a space there and he needs to step up.”

Defender ‘offered’ big-money contract by Premier League club

Rangers defender Leon King was reportedly offered over £10,000-a-week to sign an unnamed Premier League club at the age of 16.

The teenage centre-back is starting to establish himself in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first-team squad and played the full 90 minutes during last night’s Scottish League Cup victory over Dundee.

According to The Athletic, a host of English clubs were tracking King’s progress as he worked his way up through the academy set-up at Ibrox, with one ‘top’ side ready to table the five-figure salary proposal two years ago.

Rangers would have recevied a compensation fee for the youngster as is required for cross-border transfers but he signed his first professional contract in March 2020 which runs until the summer of 2024.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reported that Manchester United, Newcastle and Leeds United had all sent scouts to cast their eye over King last week.

Gers star admits to playing through pain barrier

John Lundstram confessed he’s been playing with an ankle injury for the almost a month - and will continue to fight through the pain barrier providing it won’t cause him any further damage.

The 28-year-old midfielder confirmed he was sent for a scan on Monday before the club’s medical staff allowed him to start against Dundee at Ibrox

Speaking as a guest on the Chattin Pony podcast, Lundstram said: “I’ve been playing with an ankle injury for the last three weeks. Just got it scanned on Monday after the last game we had and I’ve just got some tear and a little skin thing. I don’t know the scientific word for it.

“As long as they sayd ‘it’s structurally sound and you’re not going to do any further damage and you can crack on’, I just crack on. I can’t remember the last time I played without some sort of niggle.

“You see loads of players who are just injured constantly. I think most of it is mental. If you can deal with pain, you’re fine.”