2.30pm

Today's local press confirms that James McFadden will miss the Rangers game on October 19 through suspension.  However, and more worryingly, he has been handed a TWO-match ban, and will therefore miss the home match with Livingston as well.  Scott Leitch could also miss the match at Ibrox after picking up an injury to the tendon behind his knee.

Meanwhile, Terry Butcher has backed James McFadden to be a Scotland star of the future.  Speaking ahead of Scotland's match with Iceland on Saturday, he said:
"Berti watched James against Celtic and has been at Fir Park for our games against Dundee and Aberdeen, but I’m not sure whether his recent performances will warrant a start in Iceland.  He’s certainly a very exciting player, but people forget that he’s only 19 and this is really his first full season as a first-team regular, so he still has a bit to learn.  If he does start it’ll be a massive game for him and I wish him all the best.  I would be delighted if he started the game or even came on as a sub and scored a hat-trick, but it will be a very difficult game for Scotland, although I hope they win as it would give the whole of Scottish football a much needed boost.

"Going back down to the under-21s has probably benefited James as he played really well for them and showed what he is capable of doing.  I’ve no doubts he can handle playing for Scotland and I just hope it all goes well for him if he does get an opportunity."

Looking back to the defeat by Aberdeen at the weekend, Butcher added:
"We should’ve won the game against Aberdeen by half-time as we created plenty of chances.  Although the second-half was fairly even, Aberdeen really stole the points because I felt we created the better chances.  However, just like the previous week against Dundee, we didn’t take them and paid the price for that.  We really threw away the three points yet again and, like I said before, we have to be more ruthless in front of goal.

"It was never a penalty, but I was quite happy to take it, although I would have been happier if we could have scored from open play.  To be honest, I think it fired Aberdeen up at half-time because we didn’t allow them to play in the first-half.  However, one positive thing we can take from the game is at least we’re creating chances even though we’re not taking them at the moment.  Obviously, it’s something I’m aware of and we’ve brought in Andy Walker to work with the midfielders and the forwards on a Wednesday to help them improve in front of goal and I’m sure we’ll get our belief back.  However, when we score it will probably be a ricochet of someone’s nose, but I’d be happy with that!"

Time for a new opinion poll!

Should Steve Woods be replaced when the transfer window reopens?