Scottish Premiership: Hearts & Rangers angst, Hibs joy, Celtic satisfaction - fan views on weekend
- Published
Tough times for Steven Naismith after another defeat
No-one would ever pretend the Scottish Premiership is perfect, but one thing it is not is boring.
Another weekend, another healthy helping of storylines - and that of course means plenty of emotion, opinion and reaction from fans of the 12 clubs.
Celtic got their show back on the road after European disappointment despite Joe Hart's red card at Livingston and Zak Rudden's 92nd-minute strike rescued a point for Dundee despite them also being down to 10.
Nick Montgomery steered Hibernian to their first win of the season - which left St Johnstone on the bottom - but cross-city rivals Heart of Midlothian lost to St Mirren, their third defeat in four games, to apply more pressure on Steven Naismith.
On Sunday, unconvincing Rangers were booed off despite beating Motherwell and Aberdeen finally found form by thrashing Ross County.
We asked for your views on the action-packed weekend, so here's the best of them...
'Better chance in the derby with an interim manager'
The pressure on Naismith was dialled up a touch with the defeat by St Mirren - and fans are getting increasingly restless...
Stuart: Overpaid big-time Charlies who talk the talk but cannot walk the walk. No defence and no control in midfield. The board may know about business but know nada about football.
James: Need a new manager with no connection to Hearts who might give some of the kids a chance.
Alfie: If Naismith doesn't get sacked, it will show how poorly run this club is. I mean how can you dominate so much possession, get so much touches in the box, and not score a goal?! We've got to a point where watching the club we love has now become a chore. The derby is next week, and I think we'll have a better chance winning with an interim manager.
Jim: Nothing has changed in six months, inept at best. We BADLY need an EXPERIENCED leader in the dugout or the season will be done by Christmas.
'The worst team since top-flight return'
Rangers manager Michael Beale says he's concerned after Rangers' win over Motherwell.
Michael Beale admitted the performance against Motherwell was not good enough - and Rangers fans agree...
Ronnie: Three points the only positive. This is the WORST Rangers side I've seen since we came back into the top flight. ALL our summer signings other than Butland are chronic. Beale hasn't a clue how to improve them. Why were they signed? Not a proven goalscorer among them. We lack creativity & energy. Lundstram our best player. Butland saved us once again.
Gerry: At least Beale's assessment was honest; lacklustre, poor decision-making, slack passing, miss-control and they got what they deserved (booed off at the end). It's the first time he hasn't really defended the players and he must be feeling the pressure. But at least saw what we saw.
Fraser: Why did we sell Colak, a proven goalscorer and replace him with two duds, Lammers & Dessers? Jack Butland has turned out to be Beale's best signing.
James: Micheal Beale needs to get a grip. He keeps playing Cifuentes and praising him a lot. For what? He was terrible on Thursday and today we didn't see much improvement.
Gary: The club feels disjointed from the top down. We took a huge gamble on Beale and for me it hasn't worked. The board has to be held to account for that. I feel the signings will come good with the right manager but who do you get with the budget we have? I would bring McLeish in till the end of the season with some blue blood to change the mentality.
The team that lost might have more contented fans than the side who won. This is the general Motherwell vibe...
Adam: A game we should have won. But, no goalscorer. Lets hope we get one back fit for Celtic otherwise it will be another 'we played well deserved more than losing' statement again.
Aberdeen strike gold at last
Barry Robson's men got a win - and showed something like the form of the end of last season...
Allan: Think this is more like the performance Barry and ourselves are looking for. The back three look good and if you watch carefully you'll see Devlin either waiting to cross into the box or waiting to tap in - a superb modern wing-back. Shades of Stuart Kennedy in his prime.
Fred: Great afternoon! Aberdeen looked very good; wonderful to see our best forwards back to scoring ways. The team should take huge confidence from this performance - a real catalyst for wins in the next few games. Our defence looked solid, midfield performed with vigour and the forwards scored... cannot ask for more.
Hibs fans like Nick Montgomery's 'youth first' policy
'Good to see youth getting a chance'
Hibernian fans are impressed with what they've seen from new boss Nick Montgomery so far...
Aldo: Decent performance, and a much-needed first home win in the league. It was fairly comfortable, but Saints are the worst team we've played this season. But you can see the difference Monty has made already, we just look more like a team who all know what their roles are. Good to see youth getting a chance, but the jury's still very much out on Jair.
George: Good to the the gaffer using the squad. At times, I felt we could've played ball forward quicker, but the balance was good and Saints didn't cause us too many problems. Great to see a 16-year-old (only just) making his debut - and only good keeping stopped him getting a goal. LeFrondre and Vente looked good and clearly have goals in them. Keep it up.
Sportscene's team debate Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes' red card
Dundee fans angry but proud
Dark Blues supporters were united in their take on the officiating...
Neil: Ref was terrible. Never-say-die attitude gave us a well deserved point.
Brian: Today's referee was absolutely incompetent, abysmal and is never a grade one referee. Referees in Scotland are so poor it is unbelievable.
Rod: We need to stop letting teams get back into the game when we get the lead. Good to get a point despite having a penalty against us and a man sent off. Still think the manager is trying to find our best team. Would like to get wins instead of draws to get away from the bottom of the table.
A very familiar theme among comments from Kilmarnock fans...
Anon: Can't seem to see games out. Lost points at both Motherwell and Dundee.
Tom: Once again, game there for the taking but the manager then puts team into defensive mode sitting back allowing Dundee to come onto us, even with 10 men. We have to put games to bed and play on front foot if we want to climb up the table.
Anon: We really need to kill games like this off. These sort of dropped points are critical over the season wherever you are in the league. Some players need to look at themselves when you can't put 10 men away with so much time left in the game. Getting worried that we are reverting to relying on the big lad's tactics again this season.
Moment of magic from Maeda
'A sign of champions'
Celtic fans were impressed with how the side dealt with Joe Hart's red card...
Dennis: A fantastic battling performance, especially going down to 10 with the Joe Hart sending off, no argument with that decision. Celtic controlled the game, a sign of champions.
Chris: Massive result today. The players showed great grit and determination after going down to 10. Another three points and a clean sheet. Thought Taylor, O'Riley and Maeda were the best players on the pitch today.
John: Easy day at the office for Celtic. Livingston rarely threatened on a pitch that Celtic have traditionally struggled on in the past a well deserved three points.
But Livi fans were left to rue a missed chance v 10 men...
Kieran: Definitely went into today thinking we could take points away. Line-up looked positive too. Missing that defensive solidity that's important.