Scottish Gossip: Rangers, Motherwell, Celtic, Leicester, Sviatchenko, McLeish, Coyle, Ambrose, Hibs

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Former Rangers defender Frank de Boer will not be their new team boss after the Ibrox board drew up a four-man shortlist, with Leeds United manager Garry Monk, Birmingham City's Gary Rowett, Aberdeen's Derek McInnes and former Rangers manager Alex McLeish having been discussed. (Daily Express)

Rangers are moving closer to appointing a new team boss after a delegation of directors flew to London to begin interviewing candidates, including Portuguese coach Pedro Caixinha and former manager Alex McLeish. (Daily Record)

Owen Coyle, sacked last month by Blackburn Rovers, and Kilmarnock caretaker Lee McCulloch have emerged as early contenders for the Motherwell manager's job after the sacking of Mark McGhee. (The Sun)

Former Motherwell midfielder Simo Valakari, presently head coach of Finnish club SJK, has staked an early claim to be the Fir Park club's new manager following the sacking of Mark McGhee. (The Herald)

Greenock Morton manager Jim Duffy, former Hibernian manager Alan Stubbs and former Motherwell midfielder Simo Valakari are among the early favourites to succeed Mark McGhee as team manager at Fir Park. (The Scotsman, print edition)

Stephen Robinson is in pole position to become the permanent Motherwell manager after being named caretaker only two weeks after returning to Fir Park as first-team coach under the now sacked Mark McGhee. (Daily Record)

Garry Monk and Owen Coyle are both being linked with managerial jobs in Scotland

Denmark central defender Erik Sviatchenko, 25, has revealed that Leicester City failed in an attempt to sign him from Celtic during January. (The National)

Erik Sviatchenko says he snubbed a January approach from Leicester City because he wants to continue learning at Celtic. (Daily Record)

Hibernian head coach Neil Lennon says those who mock his loan signing of Efe Ambrose are ignoring four years of brilliance the Nigeria defender had with Celtic before falling out of favour with the Scottish champions. (The Herald)

Head coach Neil Lennon says Hibernian are within their rights to sign Efe Ambrose on an emergency loan from Celtic because injuries to three central defenders left the Championship leaders short in that area. (The Scotsman)

Former Celtic, Hibernian and Scotland forward Derek Riordan, the 34-year-old who has been without a club since leaving York City last summer, has joined League Two outfit Edinburgh City. (The Sun)

Dundee are pushing on with plans for a new stadium, with £200,000 of their £500,000 loss for the last financial year being the result of the upkeep of their Dens Park ground - the same amount as their failure to reach the top six of the Premiership. (The Courier)

Right-back Andraz Struna does not agree with those who claim the short-term nature of the majority of Hearts' recent signings is contributing to the side's poor form. (The Scotsman)

Celtic's Efe Ambrose and Erik Sviatchenko both feature in today's newspapers

Central defender Clint Hill insists that finishing third in their first season after promotion would represent a successful season for Rangers. (The Herald)

Rangers central defender Clint Hill has angrily dismissed claims of mental fragility in the Ibrox squad, despite only one win in their last six Premiership games. (The Scotsman)

St Mirren striker David Clarkson has revealed he faces a year out of action because of an injury the 31-year-old picked up in training two weeks ago. (The Herald)

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright has described former Scotland forward Alex Young, who played for the English club and Hearts and died this week at the age of 80, as a football version of famous ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. (The Scotsman)

Captain Gemma Fay, full-back Kirsty Smith, central defenders Rachel Corsie and Ifeoma Dieke and striker Lana Clelland will all miss Scotland's opening Cyprus Cup game against New Zealand on Wednesday through injury. (The National)

Stenhousemuir have signed former Fleetwood Town midfielder Thomas Grant, Albion Rovers have added midfielder Brad Smith on loan from Dundee United, while Berwick Rangers have given David Verlaque a contract despite the former Morton full-back being sent off as a trialist against Forfar Athletic. (Daily Record, print edition)

OTHER GOSSIP

Andy Murray believes that players returning from a doping ban should not be given wild cards as Wimbledon faces a potential dilemma over whether to award Maria Sharapova a place in this year's championships after a 15-month suspension. (Daily Mail)

South Africa-born number eight Josh Strauss, who has agreed a deal to join Sale Sharks from Glasgow Warriors this summer, says he would have moved to the English Premiership earlier but wanted to qualify to play international rugby for Scotland. (The Independent)