Scottish Gossip: Hampden, Kevin Muscat, Celtic, Graeme Murty, Aberdeen, Jordan Rhodes

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Hampden has been hit with a rates hike of 35%, fuelling fears it could be ditched as the home of Scottish football. Independent evaluations carried out in early 2015 will come into effect from 1 April, with the rateable value of the national stadium increasing from £1m to £1.35m. (Daily Record)

Should Scotland move from Hampden, five possible alternative venues are Celtic Park, Ibrox, Murrayfield, a new stadium or...no fixed abode - Scotland would play at a number of grounds around the country. (Scotsman)

Former Rangers full-back Kevin Muscat, 44, has emerged as a shock contender for the Rangers job. The ex-Australia international is currently in charge of Melbourne Victory, taking the club into the Asian Champions League as champions. (Sun)

And Muscat's compatriot Craig Moore, another former defender at Ibrox, is being touted as a potential director of football at Rangers. He is in a similar role at Brisbane Roar. (Daily Mail, print edition)

Motherwell manager Mark McGhee could be in line for a five-game ban from the dugout for his outburst at Pittodrie. The match report by referee Alan Muir is likely to accuse McGhee of misconduct toward an official and he could also be in bother for claiming there is an "agenda" against the Fir Park club. (Sun)

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes the key to Rangers landing a top boss will be ensuring the new man has faith in the Ibrox board. "The key thing you look at as a manager before anything is the alignment at the top of the club. If you don't have that, it's very tough," opines the Northern Irishman. (Daily Express)

On the same theme, Rodgers adds: "I came to Celtic because of the stability of the board, the intellect of the board. I knew, when I met and spoke with them, what they were about and what their interests were. There's no confusion. There are major shareholders at Celtic who invest in the club." (Sun)

Former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson reckons caretaker Ibrox boss Graeme Murty may have trouble sleeping at night and is "cutting his managerial teeth in the eye of a storm", but nonetheless Ferguson thinks "he's the luckiest guy in the world". (Daily Record)

Having worked under him at Nottingham Forest, Leicester City defender Wes Morgan backs Billy Davies to be the new Rangers boss and says there's no way they would trail Celtic by 27 points with such a great motivator in charge. Morgan says the "passion shines through and he'd do anything to help you win. He finds whatever motivates you to win and uses it as a tool." (Sun)

Aberdeen vice-chairman George Yule is the driving force behind the proposed £50m move to a new stadium and training facility on the outskirts of the city, but he feels the development has come 20 years too late. (Sun)

Scotland striker Jordan Rhodes has sent a hand-written letter to a young Middlesbrough fan who was upset when he signed for Sheffield Wednesday. (Daily Record)

Former Celtic striker Anthony Stokes has been ordered to pay an Elvis impersonator £196,000 in damages for head-butting him in a Dublin nightclub. (Guardian)

If Aberdeen record many more victories like the one against Motherwell on Wednesday, the clamour to appoint Derek McInnes as Rangers manager will become deafening. (National)

Celtic's on-loan playmaker Ryan Christie feels he has announced himself as an Aberdeen player after scoring a spectacular goal during his first start. (Press and Journal)

OTHER GOSSIP

The mother and partner of the late boxer Mike Towell are raising money to buy a brain scanner in the Dundonian fighter's memory. They hope it will be used by boxers in Dundee and Stirling. (Sun)

Duncan Hodge says that his Edinburgh team will not give up in their quest to qualify for the European Champions Cup next season - despite being 17 points off the pace. (Scotsman)