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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
What Neil Lennon told ex-Celtic star Paddy McCourt about the ordeal of having bullets sent to him in post
He and another team mate were targeted whilst playing for Celtic WARNING SHOT What Neil Lennon told ex-Celtic star Paddy McCourt about the ordeal of having bullets sent to him in post Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FORMER Celtic winger Paddy McCourt has opened up on the moment he was sent bullets in the post - and how his manager Neil Lennon helped him through it. Lennon was in his first spell as Hoops manager when he was the target of a similar attack in January 2011. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up 2 Paddy McCourt in action during his time at Celtic Credit: Kenny Ramsay - The Sun Glasgow Just days later McCourt, from Derry in Northern Ireland, was on the receiving end of a similar sick threat. A third Northern Irishman at the club at that time, Niall McGinn, was also targeted. The envelope addressed to McCourt was found by staff at a Royal Mail sorting office in the east end of Glasgow on January 12 2011. He admits that Lennon's calmness in the face of the threats helped him too stay calm, particularly given his family were panicking. What made them even more worried was the fact they were back in Ireland at the time, with the bullets having been sent from a Northern Ireland postcode. Speaking on the Let Me Be Frank podcast, McCourt said: "At the time Lenny was the manager and he'd obviously suffered pretty high profile incidents like that before. "So having him there I had the ability to speak to him about it and his experiences on it, and you know he was pretty calm with it. "That helped me become calm with it and you know, it was just one of them things. "Thankfully it was a bit of a storm in a tea cup and nothing ever came from it and it seemed to disappeared pretty quickly. "But I think what he said was strange, you know, it was a strange thing to happen. Edouard to return and Schmeichel's last year at Celtic Plus Munteanu LATEST "And it was difficult at the time because my family were still obviously back in Ireland like my mum, my brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. "My mum was pretty worried and stuff, but, as I say, thankfully it went away quite as it came." 2 Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scotsman
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
'Different' Celtic verdict landed for 85-goal striker as transfer puts Scotland ace's future in doubt
The former Celtic hitman made his first appearance for his new club earlier this week. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The arrival of ex-Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi at Birmingham City is likely to push Scotland striker Lyndon Dykes towards the St. Andrew's exit door this summer, according to one leading pundit. The 30-year-old former Hoops hitman became a cult hero at Celtic Park after scoring 85-goals in three-and-half seasons in Glasgow, but departed in order to sign for Rennes for a reported fee of £10million in January. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Japanese striker endured a nightmare six months in France though, playing just six times for the Ligue 1 outfit, which resulted in him making a cut-price summer move to Birmingham earlier this month, where he is hoping to fire them to a second successive promotion in the EFL Championship this coming season. Kyogo Furuhashi has struggled in Ligue 1 after leaving Celtic in January. | AFP via Getty Images Kyogo's arrival at St. Andrew's has already saw the English second-tier club allow striker Alfie May to depart in order to join Huddersfield Town, and Dykes could be the next player to exit the Midlands club. The 42-cap Scotland ace managed to score just one league goal for the Blues during their record breaking EFL League One title win last season, and his poor goal scoring record could see Birmingham sanction an exit this summer, according to Sky Sports pundit and former Motherwell striker Don Goodman. 'I think you have to go back to 2020/21 to see the last time that Lyndon Dykes managed double figures in the Championship,' said Goodman. 'It's been a tough few years for him, don't think that he's going to get a lot of game time at Birmingham City this season in the EFL Championship. I don't really think he's a prolific scorer of goals. 'I think there's only once, since he's been in England, that he's managed to get double figures – I think that was Queens Park Rangers in his first season there. If I were him, I would absolutely be looking to find an avenue out and find a way to a club that is going to play me week in and week out.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Birmingham head coach Chris Davies admits he could not have dreamed of signing a player of the quality of Furuhashi until recently, and conceded he is seriously considering pairing England Under-21 international Jay Stansfield with the ex-Celtic star ahead of the upcoming season. Lyndon Dykes future is under serious threat following the arrival of Kyogo Furuhashi. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group 'If you had said that to me a year ago I would have said absolutely no chance [of signing Furuhashi],' said Davies. 'Because he was Celtic's striker. But we saw an opportunity there with him not quite settling in France and thought could we get him here and he believed in what we are doing. I've been encouraged by his sharpness and both foot finishes but he has only played 30 minutes in a training game and 60 minutes here [Burton pre-season friendly], so his fitness is growing steadily.
Scottish Sun
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Dundee boss Steven Pressley trolled by Scots football club as they blast ‘the only thing getting rattled is your club'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) STEVEN PRESSLEY might have his first win as Dundee boss under his belt but the pressure hasn't gone away. Although this time around, it's another Scottish football CLUB who are attempting to pile it on. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Dundee appointed Steve Pressley as manager at the beginning of June Credit: Kenny Ramsay 3 Pressley's endured a difficult start as Dee boss Credit: Michael Schofield Former Scotland star Pressley, 51, was a shock appointment as Dundee manager last month. The ex-Celtic, Hearts and Rangers defender was confirmed as Tony Docherty's replacement after the latter's shock sacking after the end of last season. There's been a big turnaround in players at Dundee with key men Lyall Cameron and Josh Mulligan among those to have moved on. Pressley might've been hoping the Premier Sports Cup would've given him the chance to make a strong start to his time in charge. But a 1-0 home defeat to Championship side Airdrieonians in the opening group match instantly piled the pressure on. And that only intensified when Pressley's side were defeated 1-0 again in their second game, this time by third tier Alloa. The back-to-back defeats ended Dundee's hopes of progression and they are OUT of the competition at the first hurdle. Last night, Pressley and his side took on Bonnyrigg Rose in an away clash and for periods, it looked like another horror result could be on the cards. Clark Robertson had given Dee the lead before Cameron Ross levelled things up for the non-league outfit, who were relegated out of the SPFL last season. Emile Acquah and Billy Koumetio both struck inside the final five minutes of the game to spare their team's blushes and give Pressley a first win in charge. Scottish Premiership club enlist Hollywood superstar to sell their £95M new stadium and hotel plans With Bonnyrigg having just replaced their pitch, the game was held at Whitehill Welfare's Ferguson Park home. But Pressley wasn't happy with THEIR surface in the aftermath of the game. After the 3-1 win, he said: "It certainly wasn't vintage. The pitch made it a very difficult night's work. "Credit to our players, they showed a really good mentality. "We found ourselves 1-1 with the clock running down and we kept pushing and going at it and in the end got a very much deserved in. "But as I said, it was a difficult evening, a real leveller the pitch. "When you come here on the back of a couple of disappointing results and the pitch being how it is, it was a real banana skin for us so as I said, well done to the players." Those comments didn't go down well at all with Whitehill Welfare. The East of Scotland League club's official X account responded directly to Dundee's post containing Pressley's post match thoughts. The club blasted: "I think our pitch is the least of your worries Steven. "Good luck for the rest of your time in charge." A Dundee fan bit back, telling Whitehill Welfare they had been "rattled" by the manager's comments. The club weren't done there, and fired back at the support. They said: "The only thing getting rattled is your club on a weekly basis. Airdrie, Alloa etc etc." Dundee close out their Premier Sports Cup group stage campaign - and indeed campaign as a whole - with a home clash with Montrose on Saturday afternoon. They then begin the Premiership season by taking on Hibs at Dens Park before a trip to face Rangers at Ibrox. 3 Whitehill Welfare weren't happy with Steven Pressley's comments Credit: X/@WHITEHILWELFARE Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scottish Sun
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Celtic star ‘set to leave Parkhead for transfer to Hoops' Premiership rivals'
BRENDAN RODGERS is reportedly set to let one of his players join one of Celtic's Premiership rivals on loan for the season. It's been a busy window for the Scottish champions so far with plenty of ins and outs already at Parkhead. 2 Brendan Rodgers has made a decision on several of his out-of-favour stars already Credit: Getty 2 David Martindale is looking to sign one of the Rodgers' Hoops players Credit: Kenny Ramsay Six players have left the club since the beginning of the window, including Nicolas Kuhn who completed his stunning £17million move to Como this month. A few more Celtic players are expected to join him out the exit door in the coming weeks. And it could be SEVEN Hoops stars in the near future as the Daily Record claim one player is closing in on a loan move to Livingston. It's suggested that left-back Adam Montgomery is set to join David Martindale's side for the upcoming campaign. Montgomery, 23, is out of the picture at Parkhead despite being handed minutes in various friendlies in pre-season this summer. The full-back has made 20 appearances for the Hoops since his debut back in 2021, but hasn't managed to tie down a regular spot in the first team. Most of those outings came in the 2021/22 campaign under Ange Postecoglou in his first season in charge. But since then he's fallen down the pecking order and has enjoyed loan spells at Aberdeen, St Johnstone, Motherwell, Fleetwood Town and Queen's Park. He spent last season in the Championship with the Spiders, but looks set for Premiership action this coming season with the Lions. Livi boss Martindale is needing another left-back after Robbie Fraser returned to Rangers following his loan stint last term. Inside ex-Celtic and Scotland star's £3m property empire as free agent spends almost £1m on two properties in St Andrews He joined the club in January for the remainder of the campaign and impressed in the second tier, helping the Lions return to the top flight. Now Martindale has turned his attention to another Old Firm left-back to take his place. It's stated that Montgomery is set to be announced as Livi's latest summer recruit. It's believed the club are closing in on the signing of Aidan Denholm on loan from Hearts as well, while former Willem II striker Jeremy Bokila is also set to join. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
The Herald Scotland
19 hours ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Wednesday's briefing: Lionesses do it the hard way while Rangers start with win
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace took their Europa League fight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Lionesses leave it late England produced another remarkable comeback to scrape into the final of Euro 2025. The Lionesses, who came from two goals down to defeat Sweden on penalties in the quarter-finals, were on the brink of elimination against Italy before 19-year-old striker Michelle Agyemang equalised in the sixth minute of added time. With a minute remaining in extra time, fellow substitute Chloe Kelly sent Sarina Wiegman's side through by finishing on the rebound after her penalty was saved by goalkeeper Laura Giuliani. England, who trailed to Barbara Bonansea's 33rd-minute opener, will face Spain or Germany in Sunday's final in Basel. Football mourns Jones and Fallon We are deeply saddened by the passing of Joey Jones, aged 70. — Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 22, 2025 Tributes were paid to former Liverpool and Wales defender Joey Jones and ex-Celtic goalkeeper John Fallon. Jones, who died at the age of 70, was capped 72 times by Wales and won two European Cups, a UEFA Cup and a league title at Anfield, in addition to representing Wrexham, Chelsea and Huddersfield. Celtic later announced the death of Fallon – the 12th Lisbon Lion – at the age of 84. He was the club's sole substitute when Jock Stein's side beat Inter Milan 2-1 in the Portuguese capital to win the European Cup in 1967. Martin makes winning start Substitute Djeidi Gassama sealed Rangers' win (Andrew Milligan/PA) Ibrox roared as Russell Martin's first competitive game as Rangers boss brought an encouraging 2-0 win over 10-man Panathinaikos. Maiden goals for the Scottish club from 19-year-old winger Findlay Curtis and debutant Djeidi Gassama settled the first leg of the Champions League second round qualifier. Former Southampton boss Martin, who became the permanent successor to Philippe Clement in early June, could easily have seen his new side fall behind as the Greek visitors bossed most of the first half. But Curtis fired Rangers into a 52nd-minute lead before his replacement Gassama – signed last week from Sheffield Wednesday – added a thunderous second following the dismissal of Panathinaikos right-back Giorgos Vagiannidis for a second yellow card. Palace await their European fate Crystal Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning last season's FA Cup (Nick Potts/PA) Crystal Palace will learn no later than August 11 which European competition they will play in next season after submitting an appeal to the CAS. The south London club, who won last season's FA Cup, were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after falling foul of UEFA's rules governing multi-club ownership. European football's governing body determined that as of March 1, American businessman John Textor had control or influence in both Palace and French club Lyon. Where one or more club are found to have shared ownership, they cannot play in the same competition. Lyon held on to the Europa League spot by virtue of their higher league position, while Palace's place was taken by Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest. What's on today England will discover their Euro 2025 final opponents when world champions Spain take on Euro 2022 runners-up Germany in Zurich.
