Keith Jackson: Last News

Ange Postecoglou.

Scotland ’s heart at Hampden last night. But at least Luka Modric did it with such a sense of style and artistry that it was almost possible to forgive him at the same time.With an outrageous flick of the right boot that doubles up as a magic wand, this wizard with tousled hair destroyed our Group D campaign.For Scotland, despite restoring a great deal of pride, a group stage once again ended in the kind of abject misery only ever meant for us.

Andy Robertson who noticed him first. As the rest of Scotland’s players padded nervously around the centre circle at Wembley a couple of hours before kick-off on Friday night, the captain spotted one man who really ought to have been out there with them, dressed up in the standard issue dark blue romper suit and white t-shirt.

Steve Clarke and his players were perhaps the only ones who truly believed their Euro 2020 dream could be rekindled here at Wembley rather than washed out and extinguished in the lashing rain. Three days after a nation was reunited with abject misery this was supposed to provide the final, crushing proof that Clarke has gone and got us out of our depth at this level.

Scotland are so much better than this. Yes, it’ll be the tangled image of David Marshall careering into the back of his own net after being lobbed from 40 yards which will be there to haunt us in years from now.But this Group D disaster was not about the freakish concession of the Czech Republic’s killer second goal.

Steve Clarke and his players plan to serve up this summer then Scotland ’s appetite for Euro 2020 can now be considered well and truly whetted. That Clarke was able to leave seven players back at base camp in Spain and still field such a talented starting XI says agreat deal about how far this group has come over the last couple of years.The wisdom in asking them to travel through four different countries in the space of a few days during a global pandemic? That’s another matter altogether.

St Johnstone delivered the ultimate happy ending at Hampden on Saturday. Granted, it may not have felt all that great for Hibs who made it in and out of the national stadium without even turning up for the Scottish Cup Final but, for the rest of us, there was a wholesome feeling to the season’s big finale as this honest, hard working team from Perth achieved something for the history books.

Steven Gerrard has done with Rangers and the class and style with which he has broken Celtic’s stranglehold on the top-flight title. The manager and his players celebrated their achievement on Saturday and they thoroughly deserved to milk the moment for all it was worth having been presented with the trophy they worked so expertly and relentlessly to secure.

Keith Jackson: Killie probably won’t like hearing that they are too good to go down. But it’s true.

Scott Brown which Celtic have learned to expect over all these years of cajoling and commanding their side. More often than not they have come to rely on him to provide a pivotal moment in almost every match he plays.

Brendan Rodgers refers to him as Celtic’s glue. The man who binds an entire club together not just in the huddle or on the pitch but behind the scenes as well.

Neil Lennon at the end of November after Ross County knocked Celtic out of the Betfred Cup at Parkhead. They sensed it was their moment to panic - with 10 In A Row hitting the buffers - and they did not allow it to pass them by.

Kristoffer Ajer.

Keith Jackson: Let’s be in no doubt, Jack’s loss is a major blow. But it does open up a space for David Turnbull who deserved to be in the reckoning in any case.

UEFA’s banner.The trouble is, what if racism is too entrenched in its own vile ways to pay even the slightest bit of attention to all this tick box tokenism? What if, instead, it turns around, cups a hand over its mouth and whispers ‘You’re a f****** monkey’ into the ear of a player on the opposing side of the argument?If those running the European game’s governing body really hold true to the core values of their messaging then they would do as they have always promised they would. They would kick racism out of football.But, when push came to shove on Wednesday, they gave it a paltry ten game ban instead.A victory for lip service over substance.

Eddie Howe was already having second thoughts about jumping into life the fast lane at Celtic then these last few days won’t have done much to win him over.

Howe’s name was being linked with this job while Neil Lennon was still in it, it’s difficult to fathom why only in the last few days have serious conversations taken place around tempting the out-of-work Englishman across the border.It could be Dermot Desmond has something or someone else up his sleeve but given that Howe has started piecing his backroom together it would come as a monumental surprise now if the 43-year-old is not confirmed as the man to head up this summer’s equally enormous rebuild.The first bricks will be laid this week when the appointment of a new chief executive, Dominic McKay, will be expedited in order to get the process started.He was meant to begin his new role on July 1 but the decision to bring him in from the

John McGinn. And the miraculous goal he conjured, with just minutes to spare against Austria, may well have kept us all alive to die another day in the race to Qatar.

Stephen Glass was named as Aberdeen’s boss-in-waiting with Scott Brown’s confirmation as his assistant expected to follow this week.There could, of course, yet be some last-minute interventions and it was intriguing that Brown’s name was nowhere near to be seen when Glass was officially announced. But, assuming there is no late change of heart and the contracts are indeed signed off, Brown’s imminent capture has a touch of Hollywood about it.

Rod Stewart has described the club's decision not to give Rangers a guard of honour as "childish". The Ibrox club have already wrapped up the title and visit Parkhead on Sunday for the third derby of the season.Tradition dictates that the champions are applauded onto the park by the opposition but it's proved a contentious issue in this fixture.

Keith Jackson: They had better - and the vast majority will. The truth of the matter is anyone who does turn up will be looking for a scrap.