Ex-Rangers man secures Newcastle United move as Chris Sutton slams Celtic star for being ‘miles off it’
The latest updates from Celtic and Rangers following a busy week of international action
Scotland took another positive step towards World Cup qualification by beating Greece 3-1 in what can only be described as one of the great smash-and-grab results of the Steve Clarke era.
This international break comes at a time when both Celtic and particularly Rangers needed time to regroup and reflect on what has so far been an underwhelming start in both halves of Glasgow.
Celtic scraped a 3-2 victory over Motherwell to avoid going four points behind leaders Hearts at this early stage and will hope to put some work in on the training ground to become a more commanding team that can control games as had been the case in previous years.
Meanwhile, Rangers are once again starting a clean slate after parting ways with the foredoomed Russell Martin and are believed to be close to assembling a new coaching team ahead of games with Dundee United and Bran in the near future. With all that in mind, we’ve rounded up the latest headlines from Rangers and Celtic.
Ex-Rangers sporting director lands Newcastle United role
Newcastle United have appointed Ross Wilson as the club’s new sporting director after parting ways with Paul Mitchell over the summer.
Wilson worked in the same role at Rangers between 2019 and 2023 during Steven Gerrard, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale’s time at the club and was central to the recruitment that helped the team win the league title in 2020/21 as well as some slightly less successful signings in the aftermath.
He’s been at Nottingham Forest for the last two years and has played an inspirational role behind the scenes in helping the club achieve European qualification for the first time in the 21st century, working under Nuno Espirito Santo and Steve Cooper. Wilson is credited with signings such as Virgil van Dijk, Elliot Anderson, Anthony Elanga, Nikola Milenkovic and Callum Hudson Odoi in England as well as Ianis Hagi, Calvin Bassey, Malik Tillman and Nicolas Raskin in Scotland.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe had described the appointment as “pivotal” and Wilson, 41, agreed terms with the Magpies after successfully negotiation a compensation package.
“My conversations with ownership have been extremely positive, and I’ve also been in regular contact with Eddie Howe and David Hopkinson. The trust, cohesion and alignment we’re building already feels strong, and we believe that being united as a team will be so important as we continue to move the club forward together,” he told Newcastle World.
“I’m excited to work with everyone across the different areas within our football department. There’s already excellent work being done here and, from the first team to the women’s team and academy, my aim is to build on that, strengthen our structures over time, and work with our staff to create environments where players and staff can continue to thrive.”
Celtic legend slams star for being ‘miles off it’
Celtic icon Chris Sutton has criticised Reo Hatate for being a long way off his best this season, and claims at this moment in time he’s a shadow of himself.
He discussed the Japanese international’s performance, via the Daily Record, and said: “As far as I am concerned, McGregor is struggling a wee bit because of what’s going on around him. He’s simply on a different level to any other player in the current Celtic team.It’s just I think there are players in the team currently who are hiding, and that kills the flow. I look at the likes of Reo Hatate. He’s been a shadow of the player we’ve seen at Celtic in recent years.
“Everyone goes through peaks and troughs and Hatate has always been one who could throw in the occasional poor game. But right now he just looks miles off it. We’re not seeing the runs into the box down the left channel, the moments of magic have been few and far between.”
Hatate has scored once in 10 appearances across all competitions and is yet to register a single assist this term. He scored 11 times and contributed nine assists in comparison last term, including two in the opening three league games.