Friday's Scottish gossip

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

There is little appetite among Scottish Professional Football League clubs for chief executive Neil Doncaster's idea of expanding the top flight from 12 to 16 teams. (Daily Record, print edition)

The BBC's director of sport, Barbara Slater, has told a Business in Sport conference that the Scottish Professional Football League does not merit a bigger slice of the corporation's budget for the broadcasting of matches when compared to England's Match Of The Day. (Daily Mail)

Wigan Athletic, now managed by former Scotland defender Gary Caldwell, want 31-year-old Motherwell striker Scott McDonald to spearhead their attack after relegation from the English Championship. (Daily Express)

Manager Derek McInnes admits that Aberdeen may be forced to sell Ryan Jack this summer if the midfielder does not agree a contract extension but says it will only be if they get the right offer for the 23-year-old. (The Scotsman)

The Scottish FA is waiting for one crucial piece of documentation from Dave King's South African legal team before making a decision about whether the Rangers shareholder can join the club's board. (Daily Record, print edition)

Motherwell striker Scott McDonald is being linked with a summer move to Wigan

Rangers have won their long-running legal battle with goalkeeper Neil Alexander, the 37-year-old now with Hearts having been awarded £84,000 by an independent Scottish Professional Football League tribunal only for a Scottish FA appeals panel to reverse the decision that the Ibrox club had breached his contract. (The Sun, print edition)

Rangers shareholder Felix Magath, the former Bayern Munich, Hamburg and Fulham boss, is set to end speculation about any future role at Ibrox by accepting the job as Austria Vienna manager this week. (The Herald)

Celtic first-team coach John Kennedy has warned Virgil van Dijk that his progress as a top-class central defender could be hindered if he leaves the Scottish champions too soon. (The Scotsman)

Iain Davidson has joined fellow midfielder Jamie Reid in being told by manager Paul Hartley he will not be offered a new contract by Dundee. (The Courier)

Former Scotland forward Derek Riordan insists he is not past his peak and is one of the top players available this summer despite the 32-year-old being freed by Scottish League Two outfit East Fife. (The Sun, print edition)

Hibernian manager Alan Stubbs could still make a summer move for Martin Boyle despite the 22-year-old striker's loan spell from Dundee being cut short by injury. (Daily Record, print edition)

Ryan Jack could be sold by Aberdeen if he does not agree a contract extension

Peter Houston, whose Falkirk side are the fourth from the second-tier to reach the Scottish Cup final in 10 years, says the Scottish Professional Football League should review its scheduling to ensure no other Championship team is left idle for 28 days ahead of the Hampden showpiece. (The Times, print edition)

Darren Dods thought about retiring last summer, but now the former Hibernian, Falkirk, Dundee United and Inverness Caledonian Thistle defender is relishing the prospect of playing in the Scottish Championship as a 40-year-old with Forfar Athletic next season if they beat Alloa Athletic in their play-off. (The Herald)

Saudi Arabia midfielder Salem Al Dawsari has been let off with just a paltry six-game ban for headbutting Scottish referee John Beaton during the Riyadh derby between Al Hilal and Al Nasr. (The Herald)

OTHER GOSSIP

Craig Chalmers, the former Scottish rugby international and British Lion whose son, Sam, is soon to complete a two-year ban from rugby for doping, has criticised the Scottish Rugby Union for failing to take the opportunity to learn from the incident and claimed that the practice in rugby is "rife". (The Herald)

Martin Laird is hopeful he will have locked in qualifying for this year's Open Championship before the pressure of having to secure an Old Course tee-time through the Scottish Open. (The Herald)