Friday's Scottish gossip

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Dave King says Rangers can cope if Mike Ashley chooses to call in the £10m he has loaned to the club. (Daily Mail)

Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell is opposed to introducing to Scottish football the strict liability rule on fan behaviour, which puts the blame on the club and is used by Uefa. (Various)

The £5.14bn deal agreed by the English Premier League with Sky Sports and BT Sport has hurt Celtic's chances of playing in England, says Lawwell. (The Scotsman)

Lawwell expects defender Jason Denayer to end his loan spell from Manchester City in the summer, but is hopeful of extending the three-year contract given to goalkeeper Craig Gordon last summer. (Daily Record)

Dave King was surrounded by reporters at Glasgow Airport on Thursday evening

The Scottish Football Association will meet next month to consider whether King passes its "fit and proper person" test. (Various)

King hopes to be clear to be named as Rangers chairman within "a couple of weeks". (The Herald)

He believes it will take two years of pain before Rangers are in a position to challenge their rivals. (The Scotsman)

King says he will provide half of the initial £20m he believes is required at Ibrox in the short to medium term, with other investors providing the remainder. (Daily Mail, Daily Record)

Scottish League Two side East Fife have announced that former Hibs and Celtic striker Derek Riordan has agreed to sign for them after playing three times as a triallist. (Daily Mail)

Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has brought Stiliyan Petrov, the former Celtic midfielder, back to the club to work as part of the backroom team. (The Scotsman)

Motherwell manager Ian Baraclough wants injured players Stevie Hammell, Iain Vigurs, Paul Lawson and Zaine Francis-Angol to feel included in the squad, and not feel left out like he did in his playing days. (The Sun)

East Fife will be hoping Derek Riordan can help them win promotion to League One

Dundee United breathe a sigh of relief as striker Nadir Ciftci is cleared by the SFA's compliance officer to play against Celtic in the Scottish Cup quarter-final on Sunday. (Various)

Hearts defender Adam Eckersley says the team are desperate to win the Championship title as soon as possible so that they can walk out at Ibrox next month as champions. (Daily Record)

SFA chief executive Stewart Regan hopes Brian McClair's many years with Manchester United mean he is the next best thing to appointing Sir Alex Ferguson to the role of performance director at Hampden. (Daily Mail)

Supporters Direct Scotland report that almost 90% of the fans they surveyed back the introduction of safe standing areas in grounds. (Daily Record)

OTHER GOSSIP

Judy Murray expects her son Andy to be emotional when he feels the backing of 7,000 fans at the Emirates to watch him play for Great Britain against the United States in the Davis Cup. (The Herald)

Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend has welcomed Peter Horne back from international duty and is backing him to perform well against Zebre at Scotstoun on Friday evening. (Daily Record)