Monday's Scottish gossip

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Celtic are considering making a January move for Dundee United's Turkish striker Nadir Ciftci. (Scottish Sun)

Manager Derek McInnes is refusing to get carried away with talk of a title challenge after his side closed the gap on Premiership leaders Celtic to two points by beating Inverness Caley Thistle on Sunday. (Daily Record)

But the Dons boss reckons there's nothing wrong with the club's fans getting excited about their team's progress. (Scottish Sun)

Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie believes manager Ronny Deila looked "lost" in the wake of his side's 0-0 draw with Ross County on Saturday. (Daily Record)

Nadir Ciftci was on target when Dundee United recently beat Celtic 2-1 at Tannadice

Defender Adam Matthews insists Celtic have been out of luck in recent weeks and will soon find scoring form again. (Daily Record)

Bolton boss Neil Lennon has stepped up his move to land Kris Commons from his former club Celtic. (Daily Record)

Brentford are poised to make a £1m January offer for Rangers midfielder Lewis Macleod, a move that could spark a bidding war for the 20-year-old. (Scottish Sun)

Rangers' Arnold Peralta has accused former manager Ally McCoist of making him a scapegoat, as he repeated his desire to leave the club in January. (Scottish Sun)

The Rangers board have approached several parties in the hope of securing funding to keep the club afloat this season, despite the fact a consortium led by Douglas Park has tabled a rescue bid. (Daily Express)

Hibernian captain Liam Craig cannot wait to take on Hearts after his side hammered Rangers 4-0 on Saturday. (Daily Record)

Rangers' stand-in manager Kenny McDowall admits his team were lucky to only lose by four goals against Hibs. (The National)

Hearts youngster Billy King says seeing Rangers lose at Easter Road helped motivate his side to beat Livingston and increase their lead at the top of the Championship to 15 points. (Daily Record)

Inverness' Billy McKay has been attracting attention from other clubs for the past two seasons

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson has urged his players to stay focussed despite their huge lead in the title race. (The National)

Jamie Hamill has hailed Kilmarnock team-mate Alexei Eremenko as a "special player" after seeing the Finn score a free-kick winner against Hamilton. (Various)

Dundee United defender Jaroslaw Fojut believes losing to St Johnstone will motivate the Tannadice men even more for the New Year derby with Dundee. (Daily Record)

Fojut also reckons United have the bottle to mount a title challenge to Celtic. (Scottish Sun)

And Dundee defender James McPake fears United will hammer the Dens Park men if they play the same way they did in the 3-1 defeat by St Mirren. (Various)

Bradford hope to beat Peterborough and Hearts to the signature of Inverness striker Billy McKay. (Star)

Raith Rovers manager Grant Murray says the arrival of director of football Maurice Malpas does not mean his job is under threat. (Daily Record)

Alexei Eremenko's wonderful free-kick secured a 1-0 win for Kilmarnock against Hamilton

The odds have shortened on Scot Alan Irvine becoming the next manager to be sacked in England's Premier League, after his West Brom side lost 2-0 at Stoke. (Daily Express)

OTHER GOSSIP

Edinburgh head coach Alan Solomons is convinced his side can still win the 1872 Cup, despite dominant Glasgow's 16-6 first-leg triumph. (Daily Record)

And Warriors boss Gregor Townsend wants his side to go on the front foot when they head to Murrayfield for the 1872 Cup decider. (The National)

Scots darts player Robert Thornton is wrapping himself in a blanket every night in a bid to keep himself healthy during his run at the world championships. (Daily Record)