Latest news with #ScottishFootball
BBC News
10 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Should Hearts' Shankland stay or should he go?
Heart of Midlothian travel to Spain for a pre-season training camp this weekend, just over two weeks out from their opening match of the new season against Dunfermline Athletic on 12 the travelling group, one name is conspicuous by its absence, that of talismanic striker Lawrence Shankland, whose contract with the club expires at the end of this month. Since Hearts brought Shankland back to Scotland in 2022, he has established himself as one of the most reliable goalscorers in Scotland's top has scored 68 goals in Hearts colours in 137 appearances across all competitions. There's an old adage about good strikers scoring one in two - and Shankland does that. That form, along with Shankland's contract situation, explains the long-standing speculation over the Scotland international. A mooted move to Rangers never transpired and links to West Bromwich Albion appear to have gone Hearts head coach Derek McInnes has made no secret of his desire to keep Shankland in Gorgie and tie him down to a new deal, with conversations between player and club is rife among Hearts supporters after Brighton and Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom completed a £9.86m deal to buy a 29% stake in the Edinburgh will Shankland hold out for a move to England or back overseas? Or will he want to be part of Bloom's "disruption" and lead the line in maroon again next season? Hearts can offer 'security' & ambition The fact that Shankland has not made it clear he is leaving is cause for optimism for both McInnes and Hearts is evidently and understandably excited at the prospect of working with the 29-year-old, but will Shankland sign on the dotted line to link up with the club's new team boss?Hearts will hope the chance to be part of their new project, with tried-and-tested performer McInnes in the dugout and Bloom's gravitas in the boardroom, is enough to persuade their star uncertainty over Shankland's future has been clouded further still as McInnes heads to Spain without him."I really feel Lawrence as part of a strong Hearts team can elevate himself," McInnes said earlier this week. "I think he's capable of scoring 25-30 goals a season in the right team and used in the right way."We can offer security. We can offer building a team and being part of a team that's trying to be successful."With Bloom aiming to "disrupt the pattern of domination which has been in place for far too long" in Scottish football, there is an expectation Hearts will attack the transfer Christian Borchgrevink, winger Alexandros Kyziridis, striker Claudio Braga, centre-half Stuart Findlay and midfielder Oisin McEntee have already signed in the early knockings of the window, while Elton Kabangu joined permanently after last season's loan the ambition of the McInnes-Bloom project, the prospect of playing under the immediate gaze of Scotland head coach Steve Clarke would be another perk of staying in Edinburgh for Shankland. Why do Hearts want to keep him? One word. Goals."When you get the ball into dangerous areas, Lawrence Shankland will score," former Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart said on Sportscene at the end of last season."A guy that is capable of banging in 20-plus goals a season doesn't grow on trees."Stewart is right. Shankland has passed the 20-goal mark in the Premiership twice in the past three seasons - no other player has done Furuhashi did it once for Celtic, Cyriel Dessers once for Rangers and Kevin van Veen once for Motherwell. Beyond that, Shankland brings experience and leadership, having captained Hearts during goalkeeper Craig Gordon's long injury has amassed more than 150 Premiership appearances in addition to 16 Scotland caps. Shankland 'looking to maximise earning potential' Had Shankland's contract expired 12 months prior, the suitors would have been piling up to sign him on a free given his goal-scoring feats in the 2023-24 season, during which he bagged 31 goals in all season just gone was less prolific and, as he approaches 30, Shankland is likely considering how many high-profile moves or high-paying contracts he has left in his career."He's at a stage in his career where he's looking to maximise his earning potential, which is completely understandable," Stewart explains why Hearts are yet to hear from him regarding the offer on the no deal has been done, suggesting any alternative offers received by Shankland were not to his liking. With pre-season about to get under way, things will come to a head in the coming Naismith, who was Hearts boss during Shankland's free-scoring 2023-24 season, added: "Like any player, there are more options when you're out of contract."It gives you a chance to sit and think what's best for you at this stage in your career, but he'll want it sorted before pre-season starts."
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
For those about to rock: How on earth does a French-Canadian musician and songwriter breathe fresh life into ailing Dumbarton FC? New owner Mario Lapointe tells Mail Sport about his plans to turn Sons into the best-run part-timers in Scottish football
Mario Lapointe is a businessman and entrepreneur. He is a French-Canadian whose first language was not English. He is a musician and singer-songwriter who cites Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen as inspiration. He made his money in the electronics industry and has a degree in mechanical engineering. In his free time, he works on old cars and restores them to their former glory, a hobby which earned him the nickname 'Vintage'. He describes himself as a poet and a 'soulful whisperer'. In his latest venture, he has also now become the owner of one of Scotland's oldest football clubs after recently completing a deal to buy Dumbarton. Following years of financial mismanagement and off-field turmoil, Dumbarton were plunged into administration last season and docked 15 points, leading to relegation to League Two. A fund-raiser set up by supporters allowed the club to make it through until the end of last season, before the old company was dissolved and Lapointe bought the assets and set it up under a newco structure. Which raises a fairly obvious question. Why would an eccentric French-Canadian businessman want to invest in a cash-strapped part-time club in the fourth tier of Scottish football? Well, Lapointe is clear on one thing. He is not here to make a quick buck or to sell the family silver. Indeed, he is now actively working on a guarantee that would stop the stadium being sold off under his watch. 'I was looking for a team for quite a while,' he explains. 'I looked at Italy, Spain, Portugal, England, Ireland and Scotland. 'For the pockets I have, I'm not looking for a £400million team. I'm a modest guy. My mum was a cleaner and my dad was a mechanic. I did mechanical engineering at university. 'I started my own electronics business in 1996 and I didn't take any salary whatsoever the first three years. 'I was the only guy who was happy to have parents who were divorced because I could bum dinner at one place and then go elsewhere the next night. 'I used to have a girlfriend from Glasgow when I was studying. It's the passion of the country which ultimately made me want to come here. 'Dumbarton is a resilient club who have had a lot of ups and downs, but the passion of the people who work and volunteer around the club was really clear to see. 'Look at the stadium. Where in the world could you see a more spectacular setting for a football stadium? 'I shared something on my Facebook recently about the perfect radishes. People like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, guys who are a little bit different. I always compare a good team to a good salad. You can't have a good salad with just lettuce. 'I like radishes and, in sports terms, that would be guys who have a little character. I want this club to have character.' By his own admission, Lapointe doesn't have limitless wealth to pump into an under-performing and troubled football club. This isn't going to be another Brooks Mileson and Gretna project, where the owner was seduced by wild ambitions to go flying up the leagues and spent way beyond their means. The plan is to bring some much-needed stability to Dumbarton. To get the club back on a solid footing and to become the best-run part-time club in the country. While Lapointe may be a colourful character, a lot of what he said at his unveiling yesterday made sense. He wants the club to live within its means and to become self-sustaining. Progress might be slow in the initial period, but it's part of a wider, long-term plan. 'First thing's first, I am not here to sell the stadium,' he insists. 'If I wanted to build houses, I could have done it back in Canada. No, that's not why I'm here. 'We have a community trust which is a non-profit organisation that was set up before I arrived. I don't own all of the land beyond the stadium. 'There is a section of land which I believe belongs to another party, but they can't build anything on it. In the long-run, we want the community trust to take ownership of this land so they have the right to approve things. 'In terms of the level of investment I will make, it's probably not correct to put an exact figure on it. But probably half my savings are going into this. I want to put the club back on its feet. 'The burn-rate (loss) for the club has been close to £200,000 per year. My goal is for the club to move away from that and not to burn money. It's about how you allocate the money in certain areas of the club and the facility at the stadium. 'For instance, one of the first things we are going to do is spend around £20,000 to revamp our main hospitality suite. 'We want that to be something that appeals to people. They can come and have a great day out at the football and really enjoy our hospitality experience. 'We also have some big spaces, big halls, inside the stadium. Those could be used for birthday parties, wedding functions, stuff like that. Whereas, at the moment, they are not being used at all. 'I want us to start hosting music nights, things like open mic, and also comedy nights. These are things that could help with revenue whilst also engaging with the local community in Dumbarton. 'You have to invest in things like this initially to start finding ways of bringing in revenue. Otherwise, you will just end up in the same situation where the club is pouring money down a hole. 'In terms of budget — cup money, league money and sponsorship equals the player wages. That's basically it. It can't be any more simple than that. 'We have it all on a spreadsheet. My accountant Mhairi, who is the daughter of [Dumbarton and Celtic legend] Murdo MacLeod, is great. 'You can't run a club purely with ego and ambition. You have to win it with math. This will be a key point for us in terms of how I want to take the club forward.' In terms of his background in music, Lapointe revealed that he had already contacted David Byrne, frontman of Talking Heads who was born in Dumbarton. 'I tried to reach out to him so that I could get him to make a little video so that I could pump the tyres of the volunteers,' he says. 'Just so he could say something like: 'Hey! Dumbarton! I heard that there's a new sheriff in town'. 'But he didn't answer. Talking Heads are actually one of the favourite bands of one of my sons. 'I play guitar and write songs. If you go on to you will hear all of my songs on there. I think I have a song for every kind of mood you can experience. 'I used to write music when I was much younger, than I basically stopped for about 30 years or something. I used to be in a band around the time I went to engineering school. 'I didn't have a great memory. I would f*** up all the time and forget the words. It was the same when I tried to read poems at school. 'After getting divorced, 25 years of marriage, three boys, and a cheating wife, you end up with quite a lot to say. So I wrote songs about it.' Whether or not he becomes Super Mario in Dumbarton, only time will tell. But with Lapointe in charge, life at The Rock certainly won't be dull.
BBC News
19 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'No-brainer' for Mulligan to join 'well run' Hibs
Signing for Hibernian was "a no-brainer" for Scotland under-21 international Josh 22-year-old left Dundee at the end of the season when his contract expired, having coming through the academy at his home town made 122 appearances including 41 last season, setting up five goals from a combination of central midfield and right wing-back."I'm buzzing to be here and I can't wait to get going," he said. "Hibs were the first team that showed interest, and that is usually a good sign."They wanted me to come here and be in the first team. Playing against Hibs last season, seeing how good they were and how well run they were, it was a no-brainer for me."There are obviously loads of good players in this squad but it was more the way they were playing, that's what impressed me most. It's something I want to be a part of moving forward."
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Real leader' Bushiri extends Hibs stay until 2028
"Real leader" and "role model" Rocky Bushiri has agreed a new three-year deal at Hibernian following the expiration of his previous Easter Road club say "a number of teams were interested" in the 25-year-old DR Congo international, who has been in Edinburgh since January 2022."Rocky played a huge part in our success last season not only on the pitch but off it in the dressing room too," said head coach David Gray. "As a character, he's a perfect role model; he always works as hard as he can, is consistently trying to push himself, and he's a real leader."As a player, it was clear to see we saw the best of him last season. He has the perfect physical attributes for Scottish football and was growing in confidence and developing week on week."More to follow.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Winger O'Connor joins Ballymena from Hamilton
Ballymena United have signed former Cliftonville and Glentoran winger Daire O'Connor from Scottish side Hamilton 28-year-old becomes the Sky Blues' fourth summer signing and joins on a multi-year deal.O'Connor had spells with UCD and Cork City before his first Irish Premiership stint with Cliftonville in left the Reds after an impressive campaign with the north Belfast club to sign for Scottish club Ayr in 2021, before he then switched to Glentoran in his sole season with the Glens, O'Connor netted 15 goals and registered 12 assists, prompting a move to Scottish Championship side Hamilton on a two-year spent the latter part of last season on loan at East Kilbride, helping them to win the Lowland Football League.O'Connor follows Ryan McNickle, Declan Breen and Matthew Clarke in joining Jim Ervin's side this summer.
