Scottish Gossip: QPR interest in Warburton, Deila angry at players

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Rangers will fight to ward off interest in their manager Mark Warburton from Queens Park Rangers should the London club come calling for him as a replacement for sacked Chris Ramsey. (Daily Express)

Celtic manager Ronny Deila says the 2-1 Europa League defeat by Molde in Glasgow on Thursday, which left them at the foot of Group A, was the angriest he has felt at his players. (Various)

He tells them he wishes they had shown the same courage as young left-back Kieran Tierney, adding "you are not a football player if you can't defend". (Daily Record)

Celtic midfielder Nir Bitton describes his team's defensive record as "embarrassing". (Daily Mail)

Left-back Kieran Tierney was spared Ronny Deila's criticism after the game against Molde

Ajax manager Frank de Boer, whose team is also toiling in Group A, says his players will "have to be positive in Glasgow" when they visit Celtic Park. Both teams need a win to have any hope of reaching the last 32. (Daily Record)

Former Celtic striker John Hartson calls the performance against Molde "unbelievable and unacceptable". (Sun)

Frank McAvennie, another ex-Celtic striker, thinks Deila is disadvantaged by not having strong competition for the league title. "It's hard to raise your game when you know you are going to win the league every season," he says. (Times)

St Johnstone left-back Brian Easton says he will hand over the captain's armband to Dave Mackay "with clenched teeth", now that the established skipper has completed a ban. (Daily Express)

Hearts midfielder Danny Swanson, who returned to Scotland after spells with Coventry and Peterborough, feels the standard has dropped since his days at Dundee United but nonetheless he feels more teams are trying to play "good football". The 28-year-old thinks the game needs to be marketed better in Scotland. (Daily Express)

Ross County striker Liam Boyce hopes the visiting Celtic fans will turn against their team if the Staggies can go a goal up against the league leaders in Dingwall on Sunday. (Various)

Skipper Ryan Jack is determined to halt Aberdeen's slide in fortunes

Former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson tells Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley, who has loaned money to Rangers and whose company's deal with Rangers Retail has attracted criticism from Ibrox chairman Dave King, that the club is "not a rich man's toy". (Daily Record)

Aberdeen captain Ryan Jack says no-one can quite explain why the Dons have lost form recently after such a strong start to the season. (Daily Mail, Sun)

Rangers striker Martyn Waghorn recalls being called into Sunderland manager Roy Keane's office to be told he was making his debut, aged 17, against Manchester United. "He was an amazing man to play for," says Waghorn. (Daily Mail)

Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson is relieved that the club no longer needs to sell a player for £100,000 "just to balance the books". Earlier this week Hearts announced an operating loss of £700,000 but had funds of £3.52m. (Scotsman)

OTHER GOSSIP

Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend, outlining some of the things he learned from the Rugby World Cup, points out how good the All Blacks are at "taking the ball in the air against stationary opponents". (Times)

Sir Ian McGeechan believes Scotland head coach Vern Cotter could be in charge of the British & Irish Lions' New Zealand tour in 2017. (Daily Mail)

Scottish cyclist Charline Joiner will switch from Team WNT to a new team next year. The 27-year-old team leader cites a preference for putting herself on the line for her team-mates as one of the reasons for her move. (The National)