‘Not Rangers TV’ - former Hibs ace hits out at ‘bias’ Europa League coverage as Celtic boss hints at ‘big changes’

Rangers produced a heroic performance against the odds to come away with a 0-0 draw against Spanish heavyweights Athletic Bilbao at Ibrox.The Light Blues were reduced to 10 men after Robin Propper’s sending off in the 13th minute and were forced to absorb a great deal of pressure as they hung on to give themselves a solid foundation to work with ahead of a tricky contest in Bilbao next Thursday.

Interim boss Barry Ferguson made a number of huge selections calls on the night but the one that made the most headlines was when Jack Butland - a goalkeeper that was tipped for an England return as recently as last season - was dropped for Liam Kelly after a dip in form.

The decision was ultimately justified by the manager as Kelly came up trumps with a pivotal penalty save in the closing stages of the contest.Rangers face Aberdeen on Sunday knowing anything less than a win could help Celtic to secure the league title, with more than a month to spare as the Hoops look to finish the job off in their game against Kilmarnock.

Former Hibs ace blasts bias Rangers coverage

Ex-Hibs striker Tam McManus was a frustrated viewer during Rangers 0-0 draw with Athletic Bilbao at Ibrox. The former Premiership forward turned pundit accused commentator Ally McCoist of showing bias to his former club Rangers and said that the former Gers manager was not acting as a neutral voice in proceedings.

McCoist claimed Robin Propper was unfortunate to be sent off for his challenge on Inaki Williams when the VAR overruled the referee’s original decision of a yellow to upgrade it to a red after review.

McManus posted on X: “Ally its an absolute stonewall red card. If he doesn’t chop him he is clean through on the keeper. If it was Fulham v Brighton you would be saying it’s a red. Meant to be a neutral commentator its not Rangers TV.”

Celtic boss hints at ‘big changes’

Celtic are on course for a fourth consecutive league title and a second in a row since Brendan Rodgers’ return to the club from Leicester City. The Hoops lifted the League Cup earlier in the campaign, performed admirably in Europe before falling short in a play-off against Bayern Munich and still have a treble in their sight as they prepare for a match with St Johnstone in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup later this month.

However, a recent dip in form, has left Rodgers frustrated with his team for taking their foot of the gas, and in recent weeks he has hinted that there will be plenty of exits and a host of new signings to freshen up the team in an effort to take it to new heights.

He said, via the Daily Record: “It's all about improvement. I think naturally what you have at our club is a natural slide of players that move out and come in every three or four years.It's the nature of our model here, but it's also the nature of players being here and maybe either looking to move on or want to come away from the pressure that's here, because three or four years of it, it's a lot of pressure.

“But we always have to be ready to replace any players that go. But obviously important for us is improvement.We always want to improve the team, improve the hunger in the team. That's always key. You need the freshness. It's either that or the manager goes. It’s simple, there’s no rocket science in it. You cannot be at a club for a long period of time with the same group of players.”

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