Scottish Gossip: Deila backed, Neilson against bigger league

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has backed manager Ronny Deila to lead the club back into the Champions League group stages. (Daily Record)

Meanwhile, Celtic chairman Ian Bankier turned on elements of the Celtic support at Friday's AGM, launching a robust defence of director Ian Livingston - the Conservative peer criticized by some supporters after he voted in favour of cuts to tax credits. (Scotsman)

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes hopes five days off during the international break will help his team rediscover their early season form. (Herald)

Murray Davidson's St Johnstone take on Dundee United on Saturday

St Johnstone will attempt to break a 19-year-old club record by winning their sixth straight away match, with Dundee United their opponents on Saturday. (The National)

Veteran Rangers striker Kenny Miller, 35, has hinted he could keep playing until he is 40. (Daily Record)

Rangers manager Mark Warburton insists there are no cracks in his relationship with Hibernian head coach Alan Stubbs following an apparent feud, with the Ibrox boss saying: "We're in an entertainment business. We have to make things entertaining". (Scotsman)

Stubbs' Hibs are two points behind Warburton's Rangers at the top of the Scottish Championship

Livingston's Kieran Gibbons says the abuse he endured after his much publicised foul on Rangers' Nathan Oduwa was "hard to take". (Sun)

Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson has dismissed Falkirk's call for a 16-team top flight in Scotland, insisting a 30-game season would not work. (The National)

Scotland will fall below Congo for the first time with Gordon Strachan's side expected to slip to 52nd in football's world rankings. (Daily Record)

Former Scotland captain Roy Aitken, a coach with United Arab Emirates side Al-Ahli, is one win away from triumphing in the Asian Champions League, with the second leg of the final against China's Guangzhou Evergrande poised at 0-0 on aggregate. (Scotsman)