Saturday Evening Update on Rangers and Celtic After Scottish Premiership Action
Celtic strengthened their grip on the Scottish Premiership title with a commanding 5-2 victory over St Mirren in Paisley, following Rangers’ earlier setback at Ibrox, where Motherwell handed them a third consecutive home defeat.
Brendan Rodgers’ side now appears firmly on course for a fourth straight league title, while Rangers’ interim boss Barry Ferguson endured a disappointing return to Govan as his team fell 2-1. Here’s a roundup of the latest developments from both Glasgow clubs.
Rangers Youngsters Set for Loan Moves
Rangers have sent two more academy players out on loan, adding to an already extensive list of youth talents gaining experience elsewhere. Goalkeeper Jacob Pazikas and midfielder Darren McInally are the latest to secure temporary deals.
Pazikas, a Scotland youth international, has embarked on his third loan spell, having previously spent time at Civil Service Strollers and Stranraer. His latest move sees him step into the Lowland League with Gala Fairydean Rovers.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old McInally is heading out for his first taste of senior football, joining Cumbernauld Colts as they battle relegation at Broadwood.
Earlier this year, Rangers opted to revamp their youth development approach, moving away from the ‘best-vs-best’ B team format, which had not yielded the desired results. Their reserve squad has played just 14 matches in the first half of the season, with half of those being arranged independently against English academy sides.
Four academy prospects—Findlay Curtis, Bailey Rice, Mason Munn, and Paul Nsio—earned first-team call-ups under former manager Philippe Clement. However, many others were deemed not yet ready for that step and have instead been loaned out across various levels of Scottish football.
Celtic Goalkeeper Secures Last-Minute Loan Deal
Celtic B-team goalkeeper Joe Morrison has completed a loan switch to SPFL League Two side Stenhousemuir, where he will remain until the end of the season.
A regular in Celtic’s second team competing in the Lowland League, Morrison was involved with the first-team squad on five occasions in 2023. Though he did not feature, he was on the bench for Stenhousemuir’s 3-1 win over Dumbarton earlier today.
Stenny’s Head of Football Operations, Martin Christie, expressed gratitude to Celtic for expediting the move before the 5 pm deadline.
He told the club’s website:
“I am delighted we have managed to secure the services of Joe. We found out late last night that Curtis Lyle’s injury was potentially going to keep him out for a spell, so we needed to move quickly to secure a goalkeeper.
“Joe is a player that we have known about for a while, having seen him play for Celtic B where he has kept 15 clean sheets in 35 games. At 20, we feel he is a good age to come in and provide competition for Darren (Jamieson) while Curtis is out, and we look forward to working with him.
“Thanks to Darren O’Dea at Celtic and to our board for allowing us to complete this so quickly.”