Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken has been talking to the media as he prepares his side for Tuesday's Scottish Premiership visit to Falkirk.
Here are the key points from his media conference:
Vrancken is "confident there will be a few Hearts players" in the Scotland squad due to be announced by new head coach Sebastien Pocognoli on Tuesday.
He said that, while he and his players were looking forward to the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Hibernian, their focus is on the next match, against Falkirk.
Vrancken did not think that Celtic's exit made the cup competition any more open as "every team can win depending on the performance on the day".

#head #coach #Media #players

The pair have both been sidelined in recent weeks, missing the victories over Aberdeen and St Mirren, while Hogh also sat out the earlier win against Falkirk.
There had been concerns among the Celtic support that both players could be facing more significant spells on the sidelines, but those fears have eased after Tierney and Hogh were pictured back in training on Tuesday.
It remains to be seen whether either will be ready to start at McDiarmid Park, although Martin O'Neill will hope they can play some part against the Perth side.
Alistair Johnston was also back out on the grass as he continues his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury, although the Canadian is expected to require more time before making his competitive return.
In Hogh's absence, summer signing Camilo Duran has operated through the middle and continued his impressive start to life at Celtic.

#celtic #aberdeen

Kris Boyd has delivered a brutal verdict on the £2.5m Rangers centre-back after a shaky display against Falkirk, arguing that his uncertainty spread through the Rangers defence during Wednesday's 2-1 Premiership win.
The Glasgow Times reported Boyd's comments, made during Sky Sports coverage, after Emmanuel Fernandez endured a difficult night despite his side taking all three points. Boyd focused on the opening half incident that led to Falkirk's equaliser. Fernandez followed an opponent too far, went down looking for a foul and left ******* e behind him. Ethan Ross then delivered the cross, with Kosta Nedeljkovic turning it into his own net.
Boyd saw little excuse for Fernandez's decision-making. He pointed to a loose square pass after the interval, when Jacob Murrell intercepted inside the penalty area before Ivor Pandur rescued Rangers with a save.
He said: "There's a tug, but I'd be more disappointed that my centre-back goes in and attempts to tackle like that.
"It summed up Emmanuel Fernandez's first half. He was really, really sloppy with the ball. You speak about good players making the people around them better — he's the opposite.

#really

The transfer window for Premier League and English Football League clubs closed at 23:00 BST on Tuesday.
Catch up with all the confirmed deals done on deadline day below, while you can follow the latest transfer news and gossip as it happens here.
The deadline for Scottish Premiership and Women's Super League clubs is on Thursday, at 17:00 BST and 23:00 BST respectively.
Scottish Premiership
Owen Eames [Derby County - Falkirk] Loan

#scottish #premiership #clubs #premier

Rangers and Motherwell clash this Saturday at the Ibrox Stadium for round six of the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers have 7 points to their name this season and occupy 5th position in the table. In their last game, Derek McInnes's team won 1-2 against Falkirk (Scottish Premiership 2026/27).
Motherwell currently have 8 points and lie in 3rd position. In their last match, Alfred Johansson's team prevailed 3-0 against Dundee United (Scottish Premiership 2026/27).
The last meeting between the two teams ended with Motherwell winning 3-2.
Rangers ( vs Falkirk 2026-09-02): Ivor Pandur, Kosta Nedeljkovic, Olwethu Makhanya, Emmanuel Fernandez, James Penrice, Cammy Devlin, Nicolas Raskin, Findlay Curtis, Kim Min-su, Djeidi Gassama, Lawrence Shankland

#scottish #points #team #saturday

On a night where plenty of his team-mates were panicking, Lawrence Shankland was a figure of calm for Rangers in Falkirk.
His two goals were decisive for Derek McInnes' side, earning a second Scottish Premiership win of the season days after the captain's penalty delivered the first at Pittodrie.
In an error-strewn game that lacked quality, Shankland was the difference maker.
His first whistled into the roof of the net off his weaker left foot, while his second - again on his left - was passed into the bottom corner with the game on a knife edge.
Falkirk boss John McGlynn summed up the Scotland striker's impact.

#shankland #game #lawrence

Celtic take on Aberdeen in a midweek Scottish Premiership showdown on Wednesday at Celtic Park, aiming to kick off their campaign with four straight league victories.
Celtic come into this game in flawless domestic shape, occupying the summit of the Scottish Premiership after winning each of their first three league matches. Their latest outing saw them edge past Falkirk with a gritty 2-1 win. Morale is sky-high after earlier commanding 4-0 and 5-1 domestic successes, even though they hit a rough patch in European action. Importantly, the Hoops boast a spotless home record at Celtic Park this term, having yet to drop points on their own turf.
Celtic receive a major lift before this midweek Scottish Premiership fixture as skipper Callum McGregor rejoins the group after shaking off a recent illness.
That said, the ***** le-holders are coping with an expanding injury roll, especially among attackers and defenders. Striker Kasper Høgh and left-back Kieran Tierney are both completely out for this match after picking up abductor problems that kept them off the training pitch.
Callum Osmand also faces multiple weeks away because of an ankle knock. Long-term casualties Alistair Johnston, Jota, and Reo Hatate stay sidelined as they work through their rehabilitation programs.

#park #term

Rangers are aiming to string together consecutive victories in the Scottish Premiership as they head to Falkirk for a Wednesday night fixture.
Currently sitting seventh in the table with four points, Rangers have displayed inconsistent performances across their various competitions. Their league record so far stands at one win, one draw, and one loss, with their most recent result being a gritty 1-0 triumph against Aberdeen. That domestic upturn comes after a painful exit from Europe, where they were eliminated from the UEFA Conference League play-offs by Czech outfit FK Jablonec in a penalty shoot-out.
The Gers arrive in better physical condition overall, although manager Derek McInnes still has to contend with several long-term absentees and off-field complications.
Forward Youssef Chermiti continues to be unavailable as he works his way back from a severe cruciate ligament injury.
Left-back Tuur Rommens is also expected to be sidelined for several weeks because of an ongoing groin issue, while midfielder Jose Cifuentes remains out after undergoing a recent operation.

#rangers #several #premiership

Rangers will hope to win back-to-back matches in the Scottish Premiership when they meet Falkirk away from home on Wednesday.
Date: Wednesday, 2nd September.
Kick-off: 8pm BST.
Venue: The Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk.
The Bairns are navigating a severe injury crisis as manager John McGlynn prepares his squad for this clash. The latest blow comes from on-loan Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Conor McLeod, who is completely ruled out after aggravating a knee injury during his recent debut against Celtic.

#falkirk #wednesday

Former Celtic midfielder Scott Allan has praised the way Martin O'Neill's side responded to their ignominious Champions League exit by beating Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership.
And Allan believes Celtic have unearthed a superstar in forward Camilo Duran, who got both goals in the 2-1 win over the Bairns.
Austrian champions LASK fought back from four goals down on aggregate as Celtic collapsed on Tuesday - but the chastened Premiership champions saw off Falkirk as they returned to the domestic agenda.
"It really was the manner in how they gave up a 4-0 lead to LASK - genuine disbelief at how that second half panned out for Celtic," Allan said on the Scottish Football podcast.
"But ultimately you have to get your chest out. Fans will still have a sour taste in their mouth about how the game went against LASK and all you can do is try and improve."

#lask #former

Camilo Duran of Celtic celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 29, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Celtic put the pain of the demoralising midweek defeat in Linz, by overcoming Falkirk 2-1 at Celtic Park thanks to a Camilo Duran first half brace.
And despite a nervy last 20 minutes due to the Bairns pulling a goal back, the players held on to make it three league wins out of three. Afterwards the Celtic manager was clearly pleased to see his side return to winning ways especially after returning from Linz having suffered a demoralising defeat having played 120 minutes of football mostly on the back foot.
Speaking to in-house club media Celtic-player after the game, the veteran Irishman said: "The win was the most important thing, it always is.
"It was a tough week for everyone connected to the football club, not just us, but the people who pay their money to come and support us, and we let them down on Tuesday. So we're absolutely delighted to have won the game.

#celtic #park #demoralising

Celtic fans banner marking poor European performances displayed by the Green Brigade. Celtic v Falkirk, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park – 29 August 2026 Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock/IMAGO
After the disastrous defeat in Linz on Tuesday evening, we returned to Celtic Park to face Falkirk on domestic duty.
While the crowd was fully behind the manager and his players, the Celtic board were quite rightly taken to task by the Green Brigade who captured the overall feeling of the entire support, as they highlighted their anger at the Celtic Park hierarchy for another costly calamity in the Champions League.
Our crushing defeat to LASK wasn't only a major embarrassment after being four goals ahead, it also meant missing out on a potential £40 million payday, and the chance to once again compete with Europe's elite.
Brian Wilson, Dermot Desmond and Michael Nicholson overseeing 2 x £40m Champions League misses…

#green #league #defeat

Celtic manager Martin O'Neil lis seen during the Scottish Premiership 2026/27 match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 29, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Meanwhile today tenth placed the Rangers travel north to play ninth placed Aberdeen at Pittodrie. The Dons currently have three points while Derek McInnes has managed just one point so far and is currently eight points behind the Scottish Champions and league leaders Celtic.
Here's everything Martin O'Neill had to say post-match and a reminder that eight months on the Celtic fan media remains banned pending the club's claim that a review would be taking place. Aye right Iain!
Camilo Duran of Celtic celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Scottish Premiership 2026/27 match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 29, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: Are you pleased with the response to Tuesday night?

#scottish #match #premiership #park

The Celtic manager will be looking for a positive reaction from the players who will still be hurting having had their Champions League dream torn from them. They will know that the Celtic supporters who travelled to Linz were angry at the end and that was the same emotion for the rest of us watching on Amazon Prime.
Martin O'Neill has made three changes to his starting XI for today's match against Falkirk with Liam Scales replacing Auston Trusty, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain coming in for the Celtic captain Callum McGregor, who is suffering from a sickness bug while Haissem Hassan gets his first start for Celtic with Yang and Camilo Duran the other two forwards.
Duran will play as the striker with Kasper Hogh out with a knock picked up in Austria.
On the bench for Celtic this afternoon are Doohan, Trusty, McCowan, Tounekti, Osmand, Kenny, Murray, Forrest and Kennedy.
Kick-off is at 3pm and the match is live on Celtic Player for subscribers based outside of Britain and Ireland.

#match #linz #martin

Mika Baur says Celtic must respond together following the disappointment of Tuesday night's defeat in Austria, with the focus now firmly on returning to domestic action against Falkirk at Celtic Park.
The Hoops are back in Premiership action this weekend, and Baur believes the squad must now draw a line under the European setback and concentrate on the challenges ahead.
Speaking ahead of the game in an interview on CelticPlayer, he said: "I think it's very important. It was disappointing for everyone and it was tough, but as I said after the match, we have to stick together now even more than before. We will move on and try to do better, for sure."
Baur also highlighted the importance of the leadership within the squad and coaching staff as the players look to respond in the right manner.
He said: "It's very important. You need those leaders that everyone can look to, to move on, to feel confident again and to feel comfortable again.

#ahead

Martin O'Neill and his squad have agonised over the defeat in Austria over the past couple of days, and that sense of disappointment will no doubt linger over the coming weeks.
However, there is still a lot of football to be played this season, not least a Europa League campaign which will see Celtic welcome Marseille to Glasgow and also head out to Lisbon to face Benfica.
Before any of those European ties, however, the Hoops return to domestic action this weekend when they play host to Falkirk and looking to make it three wins out of three in the Premiership.
Speaking at Lennoxtown today, Martin O'Neill said: "It was really disappointing on Tuesday night, but we just have to try and get over it if we can.
'It can be difficult in the immediate aftermath to take it all in and ***** yse your disappointment with a bit of time that's passed.'

#however

The Bhoys are back at home tomorrow with Falkirk the visitors to Celtic Park for the return to league action.
Join us for the match tomorrow (Saturday, August 29) which kicks off at 3pm (Celtic Park Time) and catch all the action, on the new home for live football – CelticPlayer.
Subscribers overseas can watch all the action live from 2:30pm, whilst subscribers in the UK & Ireland can listen to live audio commentary from Celtic Park. A full match replay will be available for all subscribers later the same day.
Subscribe
Your CelticPlayer subscription isn't just about matchdays though, there's so much more included when you sign up to CelticPlayer –

#park #action #live #bhoys

PAOK have emerged as contenders to sign Slovan Liberec midfielder Ermin Mahmic, who has been linked with Celtic. (Record)
Celtic winger Hyunjun Yang is set to miss both derby matches against Rangers next month after being selected by South Korea for the Asian Games. (Sky Sports)
Falkirk are targeting a loan deal for FC Austin winger CJ Fodrey. (Record)
St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari had no doubts a deal for Enes Alic would go through, despite opposition from the left-back's former club Zeljeznicar. (Courier)
Aberdeen have moved onto different midfield targets after being priced out of a deal for St Mirren's Killian Phillips. (Press and Journal)

#ermin #mahmic

December to August; not quite the length of that we were hoping for as League Cup champions, but better to have reigned and lost than never to have reigned at all.
Sunday's visit to Govan posed a real test for Craig McLeish and his developing side. The dramatic shift from pragmatic nuisances to free-flowing ball players has navigated lower-league opposition, a slightly bruised Falkirk and newly-promoted St Johnstone thus far - and looked mostly effective while doing so.
Do you double down on this approach against a toiling Rangers side? Or, as in times gone by, do you bow to more cautious instincts in front of 50,000 and their richly-assembled charges?
At the weekend, this Trojan panda filled with an equal share of possession and playing out from the back was rolled up to the Ibrox gates and left for the Premiership's good-honest-fitba-in-chief Derek McInnes to drag inside. Ninety dramatic minutes and five conceded goals later, the Saints were out and Ibrox remained unsacked.
To try to paint this performance as even partially positive is futile. Accusations of naivety or more drastic criticism, however, are a little short-sighted.

#dramatic #govan

Having been eliminated from the League Cup during the group stages and with this weekend's game against Hearts postponed due to their continental commitments, fixtures have been thin on the ground for Falkirk fans of late.
For some supporters, the wait to see the Bairns in action again will stretch even further.
When we resume the weekend after next, we'll be away at Celtic. It's obviously going to be a limited allocation for our support, but even those tickets are unlikely to be snapped up given they cost an eye-watering £37 for adult supporters.
If you're willing to settle for a restricted view, you can knock three quid off that.
It's not a surprise this fixture was boycotted by our supporters last season, and if the same happens again this time, you can't blame anyone for taking that stance.

#league #hearts #group #stages

The second Matchday of the 2026/27 Scottish Premiership season is in the books, so let's take a look through the results of this weekend.
The weekend got underway at Dens Park, as Dundee picked up their first win of the new season thanks to goals from Joe Westley and Joe Bevan.
Westley gave the hosts an early lead after just nine minutes, when his right-footed strike from close range found the back of the net. Aberdeen came close to an equaliser before the break, but Owen Goodman pulled off a show-stopping save to deny Daniel Happe's header.
Dundee doubled their lead early in the second half, when Bevan fired into the top corner from a tight angle, continuing his strong start to the season so far, having now reached six goal involvements in as many games across the Premier Sports Cup and the league.
Having eased past Falkirk in their opening game, St. Mirren's perfect start continued on Saturday afternoon when they ran out 1-0 winners at home to newly promoted St. Johnstone.

#westley #weekend #lead

Alfred Johansson really does take things one game at a time.
On Wednesday, he admitted he "didn't even know about the draw" in relation to potentially facing Freiburg in the Conference League play-offs, and on Thursday, he certainly wouldn't entertain any questions about reaching that stage by defeating HJK Helsinki next week.
For now, the Finnish side is not on his mind. His sole focus is Falkirk on Sunday.
It will be the Swede's first home game in the Scottish Premiership, and though he only joined over the summer, he's acutely aware of the hold the Bairns had over the Steelmen last season.
"They were the nemesis last year," Johansson said in Helsinki, shortly before he and his players hopped on a plane back home to prepare for the meeting with John McGlynn's side after a 1-1 first-leg draw in Finland.

#side #alfred

There are plenty of uncertainties in the new campaign, but one thing certain is this will be Falkirk's final season playing on an artificial surface at the Falkirk Stadium.
Top-flight clubs agreed last year synthetic pitches would be phased out, with grass becoming mandatory from summer 2027.
That decision means clubs with existing artificial pitches can continue using them until then, but the direction of travel is clear.
Kilmarnock have already moved ahead of schedule, ripping up their plastic pitch and replacing it with a new hybrid surface which, from the early images, looks extremely impressive.
Falkirk, meanwhile, will continue operating on plastic for one more season before making the switch.

#season #surface #pitches #continue

Falkirk have a huge challenge to replicate their top six finish of last season as they rebuild after losing a host of key players, according to Ian McCall.
The Bairns were beaten 2-0 at home to St Mirren in their Premiership opener on Saturday.
Manager John McGlynn has had to contend with the loss this summer of his top five goalscorers from last season – Barney Stewart, Calvin Miller, Dylan Tait, Ben Broggio and Brian Graham.
"It's really hard when you're at the level Falkirk are, a big club but not one of the big, big ones," McCall, who had spells at Falkirk as a player and manager, told BBC Sportsound.
"You're signing a boy [Barmey Stewart] from a university team and then getting a million pounds for him. That's not really normal, but fans will still expect you to go and find another one. You tell me five that have been found in the last 20 years like that - it's not like that.

#falkirk #mccall #stewart #manager

Falkirk have a huge challenge to replicate their top six finish of last season as they rebuild after losing a host of key players, according to Ian McCall.
The Bairns were beaten 2-0 at home to St Mirren in their Premiership opener on Saturday.
Manager John McGlynn has had to contend with the loss this summer of his top five goalscorers from last season – Barney Stewart, Calvin Miller, Dylan Tait, Ben Broggio and Brian Graham.
"It's really hard when you're at the level Falkirk are, a big club but not one of the big, big ones," McCall, who had spells at Falkirk as a player and manager, told BBC Sportsound.
"You're signing a boy [Barmey Stewart] from a university team and then getting a million pounds for him. That's not really normal, but fans will still expect you to go and find another one. You tell me five that have been found in the last 20 years like that - it's not like that.

#season #five

Captain Jason Holt has urged newly-promoted St Johnstone to show what they are capable of and "flourish" on their return to the Scottish Premiership.
Each of the previous three Championship winners – Dundee, Dundee United and Falkirk – went on to finish in the top six in their first season back in the Premiership.
Holt will lead Saints out for their league opener at home to Kilmarnock on Sunday.
"Obviously the teams that have come up in previous years have done fantastically well," said the midfielder.
"You look at Falkirk last year, they have done amazing, and obviously that'd be great.

#premiership #falkirk

Falkirk boss John McGlynn insists there has been "no contact" from the Scottish FA over the national team manager vacancy but wouldn't be drawn on whether he'd be interested in taking the job.
Scotland are searching for a new boss after Steve Clarke left following this summer's World Cup where his side failed to progress out of the group stage.
After securing back-to-back promotions with the Bairns and a top-six finish on their first season back in the top flight, McGlynn was tipped as an excellent choice to succeed Clark by former Scotland manager Craig Levain.
While the 64-year-old insists he's flattered to be linked to the position, he's fully committed to Falkirk.
"It's amazing for high-profile people in the game to be pushing my name for that job," McGlynn told Sky Sports.

#boss #steve

Rangers intend to contest a four-match touchline ban given to manager Derek McInnes for describing as "disgusting" the decision to award Celtic a late penalty at Motherwell in May.
The comments, made at the end of last season when McInnes was in charge of Hearts, related to a stoppage-time spot-kick for handball that was converted by Kelechi Iheanacho.
Celtic's 3-2 victory at Fir Park on 13 May kept them one point behind Hearts, who they beat to the **** le a few days later in a final-day decider.
Responding to the Scottish FA penalty, which is an immediate three-game ban with one suspended until the end of the season, Rangers say the remarks were "directed at the decision, rather than representing any broader criticism of officials".
Speaking to Sky Sports after a win against Falkirk at Tynecastle the same night, McInnes said: "When you heard Celtic got a 96th-minute penalty that was going to VAR and they were checking it, you just **** ume what's happened is they get the penalty.

#mcinnes #rangers #decision #motherwell

Falkirk are "a good platform" for Ben Krauhaus, says manager John McGlynn after signing the midfielder on a season-long loan from Brentford.
The Englishman joins the Bairns after two loan spells at first club Bromley and has made more than 130 senior appearances, scoring 18 goals.
Krauhaus could debut in Tuesday's Premier Sports Cup match against Ayr United at the Falkirk Stadium. Falkirk opened Group G with a 5-0 win at Edinburgh City on Saturday.
"Ben Krauhaus is an attacking midfielder who was brought to our attention by Brentford," McGlynn told Falkirk media.
"Ben was playing for Bromley when Brentford signed him and last season he was a big part of the squad that won promotion to League One.

The move to Falkirk means Krauhaus links up with former Brentford B forward Ethan Laidlaw, who completed a permanent transfer to the Scottish club earlier this summer following a standout campaign in west London when he contributed 15 goals and 10 ****** ists for the B team.
Falkirk finished sixth in the Scottish Premiership last season.
Speaking on the loan move, B-team head coach Sam Saunders said: "Ben's season at Bromley was successful, and to come away from it with a League Two ****** le and promotion to League One is a brilliant achievement. Now he gets the chance to test himself in a different environment, in a different country, against difficult teams.
"He'll have Ethan out there with him too, which will help him settle in quickly. We think this is a really exciting opportunity for Ben to keep developing as a men's football regular in a good team, and we wish him all the best at Falkirk."
Krauhaus originally joined Brentford from Bromley in January 2024, immediately returning to the Ravens on loan for the remainder of that season, where he helped the club secure promotion into the Football League for the first time in its history, featuring 43 times in all competitions.