Scottish Gossip: Celtic, Moussa Dembele, Scotland, Hearts

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Celtic's captivating 3-3 draw with Manchester City in the Champions League is "a big step forward", claims Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers. (Various)

Rodgers hails the performance of goalscorer Moussa Dembele, suggesting he "bullied" the Manchester City defenders. (Various)

And he believes the result means that Celtic will have earned the respect of English football. (Various)

Gordon Strachan wishes interim England manager Gareth Southgate well - except when Scotland visit Wembley in November. Strachan replaced Southgate as Middlesbrough manager after the Englishman was sacked in 2009. (Various)

Strachan asserts that World Cup qualification rivals Slovakia, Lithuania and Slovenia do not do much coaching because the players have worked together for years and know how they are going to play. (Scotsman)

Brendan Rodgers congratulates Erik Sviatchenko after the draw at Celtic Park

With clubs voting against adopting strict liability in 2013, the judicial panel has told the Scottish Football Association that the complaint against Hibernian and Rangers for the chaotic scenes after the Scottish Cup final was "irrelevant and should be dismissed". (Various)

Robbie Neilson admits to having felt a sense of trepidation when he named Jack Hamilton as his first-choice goalkeeper at Hearts, but he is now praising how the 22-year-old has handled things with his club and with the Scotland squad. (Scotsman)

Neilson warns the Scotland national team that next Saturday's opponents Lithuania are managed by a "special" man with "an aura about him" - his former Hearts team-mate Edgaras Jankauskas, who won the Champions League as a player with Porto. (Daily Record)

Hamilton player-manager Martin Canning encourages midfielder Greg Docherty to add goals to his game. The 20-year-old is the club's fittest player, says Canning. (Daily Record)

Michael Mols made a point about greed in football when launching Rangers' link with Unicef

Motherwell manager Mark McGhee believes that any team that finishes above Hearts this season will be in the Premiership's top three. Well take on Hearts at Fir Park on Friday evening. (Daily Record)

Former Rangers striker Michael Mols urges fans to be patient with manager Mark Warburton as the rebuilding job continues at Ibrox. The Dutchman says the fans must be realistic and accept they are not yet title contenders. (Various)

Mols, accepting the role of Rangers Unicef Partnership champion, alludes to the £400,000 that Sam Allardyce was in line to receive from a football agency firm, as reported by the Telegraph, and points out that £300,000 could save the lives of a million children through vaccination. (Various)

Former Hibs boss Alan Stubbs tells his Rotherham players he wants to see that they care and that they'll give 100% effort, and informs playmaker Scott Allan that he was dropped because his performances were not good enough. (Daily Mail)

Steven Fletcher scores his first senior goal for Hibernian in 2004

Scotland striker Steven Fletcher scored his 100th league goal, for Sheffield Wednesday against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday, 12 years after his first goal for Hibs. Fletcher has also played for Marseille, Sunderland, Wolves and Burnley. (Sun)

OTHER GOSSIP

St Helens have signed Scotland rugby league forward Luke Douglas on a three-year deal from Gold Coast Titans. (National)

Duncan Hodge will have the chance to secure the head coach role at Edinburgh Rugby on a more permanent basis if he can impress as interim head coach following Alan Solomons' departure on Wednesday. Hodge's first task is to take the team to Galway to play reigning champions Connacht on Friday. (Scotsman)

Vern Cotter will take the reins at French Top 14 side Montpellier in season 2017-18 when he leaves his position as Scotland head coach next summer. (Daily Express)

Andy Murray was named 2016 Scottish Sportsperson of the Year at the Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards in Edinburgh on Wednesday night. (Scotsman)

Prestwick caddie Mark Crane is looking forward to working with Chris Wood at the Ryder Cup and says he has been advised by another Scottish caddie at Hazeltine National, Craig Connelly, not to "get caught up in the occasion". (Herald)

Glasgow Warriors confirm they have signed 27-year-old USA Eagles number eight Langilangi Haupeakui on a two-year deal. (Various)