Former Reading and Leeds manager Brian McDermott has been appointed as Hibernian’s director of football.

The Easter Road club announced in January that they intended to recruit someone to a position which had essentially been redundant since former sporting director Graeme Mathie left in September 2021.

The search for the new figurehead was interrupted slightly following the death of owner Ron Gordon in February, but Hibs announced on Thursday morning that 62-year-old McDermott, who has had scouting roles with Reading and Arsenal in recent years since his last managerial post with the Royals ended in 2016, will take on the role with immediate effect.

McDermott will be heavily involved in recruitment alongside manager Lee Johnson and will oversee football operations such as scouting, analysis, sports science and medicine. He will also work closely with academy director Steve Kean on the development of young players.

“I’m delighted to join such a great, community-orientated club like Hibernian FC,” McDermott told Hibs’ website. “I scouted Hibs games many times in the past and have always been taken by the fantastic atmosphere at Easter Road.

“I am very grateful for this opportunity. Having met the chairman, the board of directors, executives, Lee Johnson, all the staff, and understanding more around the culture of the football club and the objectives, I’m really excited about the challenge.”

Chief executive Ben Kensell is confident Hibs have appointed the right man following a “long and extensive process”.

“We are conscious that this appointment has taken some time, which is partly due to the sad passing of our late chairman Ronald J Gordon, but we also wanted to make sure that we had the right steps in place and a thorough process, to make sure we’ve got the right person in the door,” said Kensell.

“Brian joins us with substantial experience in the game and has worked across numerous different roles across a football club on the sporting side, which sets him up perfectly for this role.

“We also wanted someone that has a strong recruitment bias, and he has that in abundance having scouted across the world for some high-level clubs.

“Brian’s background, contacts and experience will be vital as we continue to move the club forwards.”

McDermott is best known for his first spell in charge of Reading when he led them from the Championship to the Premier League in 2012, while he also managed Leeds for just over a year in between his two stints as Royals boss.

Former Rangers striker Kenny Miller believes Michael Beale will be limited in the experimentation he can do in their final five games – because he needs to get back to winning ways.

Beale promised the “biggest rebuild in years” this summer after Rangers were consigned to a barren season by Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Celtic.

The Rangers manager gave a strong hint that Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent would depart and admitted some players would be playing for their futures in the remaining cinch Premiership games.

The Light Blues go into the closing stages of the season 13 points adrift and on the back of defeats by Aberdeen and Celtic, who they play in their next two games.

“Michael has got to weigh it up because they need to win the games,” said Miller after taking part in a McDonald’s Fun Football with children in Glasgow.

“That’s two losses in a row. You need to finish the season strong, you don’t want that gap to get any bigger.

“You need to pick the right team that’s going to win the game. There will be an element of guys that are moving on, you might not see that much of them, but there needs to be guys to come in and take their place.

“It’s really important they keep winning because he’s had a good start to his managerial career, he wants to maintain that and finish the season strongly, and then he can really focus on the recruitment which by all accounts he is already doing.

“It’s going to be interesting because there are a lot of guys out of contract. I can’t see none of them playing between now and the end of the season because you still need to win the games and these guys are big players.”

Rangers have now gone six games without beating Celtic but Miller feels the gap between the teams has been overstated in some quarters.

“It was a very close game, a game I felt Rangers just edged in terms of how the game went,” he said of Sunday’s 1-0 win for Celtic. “But, similar to the game at Celtic Park, they were undone by a really poor goal to lose, and Fashion Sakala’s chance was absolutely massive.

“These games are won and lost on the big moments and it’s whether you take those moments or not. From a Rangers perspective, unfortunately in the last couple of games they have not taken those moments and Celtic have.

“I don’t think the gap between the two teams is as big as everyone makes out.

“I do believe Michael has made big progress. He is four Old Firm games without a win but they were within three minutes of winning the first one and the other games have been really, really close.

“The edge is with Celtic in terms of the mentality but Rangers have put in some pretty good performances, just never really taken the big moments.”

Miller feels signing a goalscorer is the priority.

“A striker is really, really important,” the former Scotland international said. “I think Morelos this season has not really performed to the levels we have seen over the past five years. That might just be down to the fact he probably knew he was going to move on.

“You see the impact Kyogo (Furuhashi) has made across the city. Rangers probably need a player to come in and make a similar impact, in a similar time scale as well, because Kyogo hit the ground running.

“And at the other end of the pitch, if Allan McGregor does decide to hang the gloves up, you are going to need someone to follow him because that guy puts points on the board, he has done his whole career as a Rangers goalkeeper. It’s big gloves to fill.”

Miller said of his coaching session: “It was great to get involved, I really enjoyed the session, I counted maybe seven nutmegs on the kids! I am still young enough that a few of them remembered me.

“It would have been great to have these kind of things when I was a kid, to go with your friends or meet new friends and be coached by a good level of coach. You are having a lot of fun and it’s not costing any money.”

:: Kenny Miller joined children for a McDonald’s Fun Football session at The Riverside Museum, Glasgow. McDonald’s provides free fun football coaching for 5–11-year-olds across the UK. Find a Fun Football session near you at: www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football

Hearts interim manager Steven Naismith will take no motivation from spoiling a Celtic title party on Sunday with his focus purely on boosting his side’s European hopes.

Celtic will clinch the cinch Premiership title if they triumph at Tynecastle but Hearts also have plenty to play for as they chase Aberdeen for the lucrative third place and bid to hold off the challenge of Hibernian and St Mirren below them.

Naismith told Sky Sports News: “Celtic have been the best team over the season. They will go on to win the league, but our mindset is about us and what we can do.

“We have the games from now to the end of the season to try and get in European places. That’s got to be our focus. Whether Celtic win the league or not is irrelevant to us.”

Hearts beat Ross County 6-1 in Naismith’s first game in charge at Tynecastle and he knows that utilising their home games could be crucial in achieving their aims for the season.

“They will play a big part,” he said. “When the split fixtures came out, it’s a big benefit to us that we have got three home games.

“Our home result since I took over, in the Ross County game, was very good. It was a great day for everybody and we have got to show the same enthusiasm to play, aggressiveness to play in the opposition half.

“These are the key things we need to do at home which give us the best chance of winning games.”

Steven MacLean is confident St Johnstone are up for the battle after being sucked back into relegation trouble in recent months.

The Perth side looked comfortable in mid-table in February but a poor run of form – which cost manager Callum Davidson his job last month – has allowed clubs beneath them to close the gap.

Saints – who survived via a play-off last season – go into their post-split fixtures six points ahead of last-placed Ross County and only two points ahead of joint-second-bottom pair Dundee United and Kilmarnock.

Defeat at home to resurgent United on Saturday could leave the McDiarmid Park side sitting in the relegation play-off spot, but interim manager MacLean feels they can take encouragement from the fact they are still “in the driving seat”.

“I think they are, I think they know that,” he said when asked if the Saints players were fully aware of the gravity of their predicament.

“The players know they are in a battle. All we’re concentrating on is ourselves right now. We know what we’ve got to do. We’re in the driving seat, it’s in our own hands. We’re not really looking towards other teams.”

MacLean was handed the reins two and a half weeks ago after the sacking of Davidson. The 40-year-old oversaw a 1-1 draw at home to Hibernian in his first game in charge and – with no fixture last weekend – he arranged a “competitive” friendly against his former club Hearts last Friday to keep his squad ticking over.

MacLean is relishing his first taste of management but insists there is no update with regard to the longer-term managerial situation at Saints.

Asked if he had any further discussions about his position, MacLean said: “No, I’m just in charge until I’m told not to be.

“I’m enjoying it. It’s hard work. It’s something that’s always been in the back of mind that I wanted to do. I’m just really concentrating on the next five games.

“Dundee United is first so I’m just looking at that and putting all my thoughts into that and having the players focused.

“The boys have been excellent. They’ve done everything I’ve asked of them and more.”

David Martindale is adamant there is no chance of Livingston winding down in the closing weeks of the season even though they have little to play for.

The Lions spent much of the season in the top half of the cinch Premiership and in contention for a European place but a run of six defeats in nine games before the split led them to slip into the bottom six.

Livingston have little chance of being relegated – they are 11 points clear of second-bottom Kilmarnock – but Martindale feels duty-bound to ensure his team do not take their foot off the gas as each of the five sides they will be coming up against are still threatened by the drop.

“In the last batch of fixtures we fell a bit short for the top six and we’ve only got ourselves to blame,” he said. “But when you look at the bottom six it would be hard to say there’s nothing to play for when you look at the teams that are around us.

“Our next three games are Ross County, Kilmarnock and Dundee United who are all fighting for their lives to stay in the Premiership.

“I’ve got to make sure for the integrity of the league, not just Livingston Football Club, that I’m not tinkering with my squad thinking about next season because there’s a lot at stake for teams within the bottom six.

“I’ll be trying to play my strongest team possible because I genuinely do think I’ve got to do that for sporting integrity.

“Have I got one eye on next year? Potentially. But is that going to have an impact on my decision-making just now? Probably not because of the reasons I’ve touched on, for the better of Scottish football and the teams in the bottom six.”

Livingston missed out on the top six on the last pre-split weekend last season but picked themselves up from that blow and finished a comfortable seventh in the league with three wins and two draws from their five bottom-six fixtures.

Martindale is confident his team will not be plagued by any lingering negativity this time round either.

“We did it last year and we’ll do it again,” he said when asked if it would be hard for the players to rouse themselves for the run-in. “The way I like to coach is ‘one game at a time’ so there’s not going to be a hangover.

“If we go up to Ross County (this Saturday) and don’t pick up points it will not be because of their mindset about not getting into the top six.

“That doesn’t play a part in my psyche anyway, and I’ll be making sure it doesn’t play a part in the players.”

Chief executive Alan Burrows has warned that Aberdeen “will be a very difficult club to deal with” if any interested parties attempt to sign their best players.

Strikers Luis “Duk” Lopes and Bojan Miovski have notched 18 goals apiece in their maiden seasons at Pittodrie and have been the subject of interest from elsewhere.

“Both Duk and Miovski are in the first year of long-term contracts,” said Burrows. “The club is under no pressure to sell them and the club don’t want to sell them.

“If anybody wants to take our best assets away from us, particularly ones who have long contracts, we’re going to be a very difficult club to deal with.

“We have to marry up a model that says we develop young players through the academy and players we bring in to develop and sell, but at the same time you’ve got to balance that by building a squad rather than consistently chipping away at it, so in order to do that you’ve got to retain the best value for these players.

“People have got to know that Aberdeen Football Club will do that. The board have done that in the past, they’ve knocked back big offers for players and I sense from the ownership group and the board that they’re more than prepared to do that again.

“We want to build a strong team and retain the best players whilst also understanding that there is a model that requires us to continually look to trade on players to continue the health of the football club and invest in the team.

“It won’t be easy for anybody who wants to take any of our best players, that’s for sure.”

Burrows was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, a day after interim boss Barry Robson – who was initially in situ only until the end of this season – was handed a contract for the next two years.

The recently-recruited CEO explained why former under-18s coach Robson, who has won eight of his 10 games in charge, emerged as the favoured choice following an “extensive” recruitment process that explored “a number of key candidates”.

“I had never met Barry before I came to the club but I’d heard a lot about him. I was really taken aback by how highly regarded he was by the senior people at Pittodrie and then after my first meeting with him at Cormack Park,” said Burrows, who joined Aberdeen at the end of February, a month after Robson took the reins from the sacked Jim Goodwin.

“That hour-and-a-half I could really sense what type of character he is and I really liked him from the get-go. I thought ‘this guy’s really got the materials to be doing it’.

“In terms of the stuff he’s been doing away from the pitch, Barry’s been developing a bit of a DNA about what it means to be an Aberdeen player, right through from the youngest academy players, to the development age groups, to the first team, and really trying to home in on what it means to play for this club and be successful.

“And now that he’s the manager, we’re really excited about him being able to drive that forward from the top down.

“It’s almost that utopia of what football clubs want, that connectivity between the three different areas of player development and we think Barry now is the flagship, most senior person within the football department and he can really drive that forward and connect up those departments.

“First and foremost it’s about winning matches – and he’s doing that. Developing players and giving them confidence and a structure, and he’s done that.

“And the third thing is to connect up all the various departments and the various age groups to create a real synergy between the very youngest player and the most senior player.

“Those were the three key reasons about (appointing) Barry and also we’ve got a big job to do this summer and that was part of the reason for expediting the process slightly from what we’d said about six weeks ago.”

Academy director Craig Mulholland will leave Rangers at the end of the season as a “wide-ranging transformation of all areas of the football club” continues.

The 45-year-old joined the Gers in 2003 – initially as football in the community manager – and held various roles before becoming head of academy in 2015.

Mulholland becomes the latest Ibrox figurehead to head for the exit, with chairman Douglas Park stepping down recently and sporting director Ross Wilson departing for Nottingham Forest, while it was announced last week that managing director Stewart Robinson would leave his role in the summer.

“I have loved my 20 years working at the club that I had grown up with, and, in particular, the last eight leading our academy, B team and women’s teams,” Mulholland told Rangers’ website.

“However, in all leadership positions, sometimes knowing when the right time to move on is as important as deciding which opportunities to take.

“My successor will inherit some fantastic people, working passionately to deliver on a clear strategic vision, underpinned by strong processes and modern, innovative methodology.

“They will also inherit some outstanding young talents which will lead to an exciting future for the club and the academy over the next few years.”

Recently-appointed chief executive James Bisgrove added: “On behalf of the board, I would like sincerely to thank Craig as he moves on, having transformed our academy into one which is on a par and even exceeds many clubs in Europe’s biggest leagues.

“Craig will leave the club with a fantastic legacy, which includes the professionalisation of our women’s programme, being the leader on B teams being introduced into senior Scottish football, creating our Boclair Academy performance school and having brought in over £15million in academy player sales in the last five years.

“Together with Michael Beale, John Bennett and the board, I will now lead a thorough process to identify his replacement, as we continue a wide-ranging transformation of all areas of the football club.”

Richard Taylor has signed a new deal at St Mirren, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2025.

The 22-year-old defender initially joined the Buddies on a six-month deal in January, with the Paisley club holding the option to extend further which has now been taken up.

Taylor signed for Saints after leaving League of Ireland First Division side Waterford and made his debut in a 1-1 draw with Hearts on January 7.

He has gone on to make eight first-team appearances so far this season, and boss Stephen Robinson told the club’s website: “Richard has come in and been fantastic in the games he has played.

“He’s stepped up to the level in games against Celtic and Hearts, and in the longer term, I think he’s a very good addition to our squad.

“He’s someone we are constantly working on, he’s someone who wants to learn and he’s still only young.

“He’s left-footed which gives us more balance on that side of defence and he can play at left-back as well.

“He’s 6ft 2ins and he’s quick as well as being very composed on the ball and going forward he gives us a few more options playing out from the back.”

Celtic extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to 12 points after a 3-2 win in Saturday's Old Firm derby to all but end Rangers' title hopes.

A gripping game at Celtic Park saw the hosts pour more cold water on their rivals' diminishing title chances, as Michael Beale's side failed to cut the gap.

Kyogo Furuhashi gave Celtic the lead in the 26th minute, before a sumptuous James Tavernier free-kick pulled Rangers level just before the break.

Another for Kyogo restored the hosts' lead before Jota extended it, though Celtic were made to sweat after Tavernier headed in another with just over 10 minutes remaining, his 100th Rangers goal.

Kyogo had the ball in the net after just five minutes but was denied by an offside flag, with a typically frenetic start to the game leading to numerous misplaced passes from both teams.

There was controversy in the 19th minute when Alfredo Morelos turned the ball in at the far post from a Rangers corner, only for referee Kevin Clancy to disallow it for a foul on Alistair Johnston that looked a harsh call, though the VAR turned down the chance to call for a review.

Salt was rubbed into the visitors' wounds seven minutes later when neat work from Matt O'Riley on the left saw him cut the ball back to Kyogo, who took a touch before turning and finishing well to Allan McGregor's left.

Rangers were level just before half-time though after Tavernier curled an inch-perfect strike from 25 yards to Joe Hart's right that went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Kyogo restored Celtic's lead just after the hour mark when Ben Davies made a mess of a clearance, giving the Japan international a simple finish when presented with the loose ball.

Another Rangers defensive error in the 73rd minute saw John Souttar mishit a backpass attempt, allowing Jota to run in and round McGregor before rolling the ball into the net.

Tavernier met a Borna Barisic cross to head in at the far post to reduce the deficit to one again, but Celtic held on to all but end this season's title race.