THE MONDAY JURY
1 ABERDEEN are hunting a fifth new boss in just over three years - what and who is needed to finally steady the ship?
The moment Neil Lennon said he wanted the job last week was very possibly the same moment Neil Warnock’s time was up. He’s ready and willing and Aberdeen’s need is great.
Neil Lennon wants the job and he has strong credentials as does Stephen Robinson, who is working wonders at St Mirren.
Someone with serious standards when it comes to style of play as well as demands he’ll make of those above him. I like the look of Rhys McCabe at Airdrie but if Dons don’t want another young boss, Stephen Robinson has to be their next choice.
Better recruitment for a start as last summer’s scattergun approach was a costly error. Aberdeen need a strong manager with a full understanding of the market they work in. If Alex Neil could be tempted north it would be a real coup.
2 BRENDAN RODGERS is already talking about a Celtic summer rebuild but does his squad need torn apart or just a few key additions?
Celtic will need at least one new goalkeeper, a leftback and a centrehalf plus a central midfielder capable of keeping the team ticking over if Callum McGregor is missing, a new centre forward and another couple of wingers. That does sound like a major overhaul.
Celtic need plenty. Rebuild might be too strong a word, but, if Matt O’Riley leaves, Rodgers needs half-adozen with various areas needing boosted.
They need a new keeper, centreback, left-back, a couple of centre mids, at least one winger and someone to challenge Kyogo up top. That looks like a pretty major overhaul to me.
They need to clear out three or four who aren’t at the standard and bring in a keeper, two defenders, one or two midfielders depending on the O’Riley situation, a winger and a striker. That’s major surgery in anyone’s language.
3 STEVE CLARKE selects his latest Scotland squad this week but are there any new, or old, names you’d like to see handed a shock call-up?
It’ll be interesting to see if Clarke chooses to take a close look at Craig Gordon as he hasn’t seen enough of him in a Hearts shirt since the keeper’s comeback. Ryan Jack comes into a similar category now that he’s back and available at Rangers.
Steve Clarke has been loyal and gone with the tried-and-trusted. It has served him extremely well and there’s no need to start altering the approach now.
It might be worth including Craig Gordon to have a look at how he is shaping up after his leg break. Scot Gemmill has told David Watson and Lennon Miller to bide their time for an Under-21s call but this pair should be on Clarke’s radar for the A team too.
Not so much surprise call-ups but it’s more about handing players who have been on the fringes and chance to claim a starting shirt such as Lawrence Shankland and Lewis Ferguson.
4 SCOTLAND’S rugby hopes were ruined in Rome. Has this year been a missed opportunity to make history with a first Six Nations title?
Absolutely. Is there any other way of looking at it? Sure, Scotland continue to make progress but they have a nasty habit of bottling it at the biggest moments and they can’t quite seem to shake it off.
Yes. The defeats have been narrow. Scotland could easily have done better and it’s been frustrating
Absolutely. They were robbed of a famous win over France by a refereeing blunder but they only have themselves to blame for their Rome meltdown. We should be going to Dublin chasing a grand slam not on a face-saving operation.
Yeah it’s been a campaign of ‘what ifs’. Saturday’s defeat in Italy was a shock but maybe shouldn’t have been given this talented side’s ability to selfdestruct. The warning signs were there in Wales on day one.