Wednesday's Scottish gossip

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Celtic are poised to reignite their interest in Dundee United midfielder Stuart Armstrong, who is likely to command a £2m transfer fee. (Daily Mail)

Ronny Deila has leapt to the defence of Scottish football's much-maligned refereeing community, insisting they have been "fantastic" since he took charge of Celtic. (The Scotsman)

Celtic manager Ronny Deila says Scottish referees are the best he has seen in Europe this season. (Daily Record)

Celtic defender Efe Ambrose has predicted that John Guidetti will make as big an impact at the club as Gary Hooper if the on-loan Manchester City striker stays beyond his current loan deal. (The Herald)

Rangers manager Ally McCoist is bracing himself for the prospect of losing top-team players in the January transfer window as the financial crisis at Ibrox deepens. (Daily Record)

Rangers manager Ally McCoist has revealed that he will not have the final say on any decisions to release - or, where possible, to sell - his players when the transfer window reopens next month, with the cash-strapped Championship-challengers currently living a hand-to-mouth existence courtesy of the loans supplied by influential shareholder Mike Ashley. (The Scotsman)

Kenny Shiels, Forth Valley Football Academy head coach, is reportedly on Motherwell's shortlist

Rangers striker Kris Boyd admits he is surprised he was not dropped to the bench sooner after a poor run of form. (The Herald)

Kris Boyd has hit back at former Rangers defender John Brown, with the striker urging his critic to judge him at the end of the season. (The Scotsman)

Former Kilmarnock and Greenock Morton manager Kenny Shiels is one of around five contenders shortlisted for the vacancy at Motherwell. (Daily Mail, print edition)

A year to the day since being sacked by Wigan Athletic after six unhappy months as manager, out-of-work Owen Coyle insists he does not fear being labelled yesterday's man. (The Scotsman)

Owen Coyle says his experience at Wigan Athletic has made him careful about which club he works for next. (Daily Record, print edition)

Owen Coyle could follow fellow Scottish managers David Moyes and Alex McLeish by moving oversees to revitalise his career. (Daily Express, print edition)

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has stressed he has had no contact from Arsenal regarding James McCarthy and that he looks forward to seeing the Glasgow-born midfielder stay with the Toffees "for a long, long time". (London Evening Standard)

Cardiff City manager Russell Slade has allayed fears that David Marshall could miss the rest of the season, saying the Scotland goalkeeper does not need a hernia operation and only has a "niggle in his groin" that requires monitored. (Daily Express, print edition)

Falkirk manager Peter Houston says the Scottish Championship club will lead an attempt to revert back to the format of top-flight teams only entering the Scottish Cup at the last-32 stage in January. (Daily Record, print edition)

OTHER GOSSIP

Andy Murray has been urged by former mentor Sergio Casal to pick his tennis tournaments wisely to avoid another punishing schedule that led to the Scot being humiliated by Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals. (Daily Record)

Toulouse have been struck by a spate of injuries to leading players in the build up to their back-to-back Champions Cup meetings with Glasgow Warriors. (The Herald)