TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Newsmakers 2009: Blue Jackets brain trust sees improvement Ken Hitchcock and Scott Howson found themselves in a tough situation in June 2007, when they started working together to turn around the Columbus Blue Jackets. bizjournals.com |
Mowbray pressured to rein in Rangers • Tony Mowbray regards Old Firm meeting as just another game• Derby pivotal for manager as Rangers threaten to stretch leadIt is hardly a surprise that he is unwilling to admit it, but Sunday marks the start of a crucial phase for Tony Mowbray in his Celtic tenure.Mowbray bristles at public criticism of his players and objects to the suggestion he has been less than impressed with their efforts to date. The blunt truth for Celtic's manager, nonetheless, is that his team will fall 10 points behind Rangers if Walter Smith emerges victorious from the second Old Firm derby of the season."We believe we will win the football match," Mowbray said. "But I don't think anything will get settled on 3 January. If there is a gap, it has been proven in the past that it can be turned around."With respect to the Old Firm game, as a manager you prepare for each game the same. It's the same three points at stake. It's the same feeling you get in your stomach when you win and the same feeling when you lose. Believe it or not, there is always another game around the corner. So you are either trying to pick your team up for that or trying to keep their feet on the ground."That's what football management is. The feeling of defeat at Ibrox in October was the same as every other defeat. The feeling of victory will be the same as any other victory if we can manage that on Sunday."His opposite number disagrees. "These games bring a nervousness, a tension to everybody who is involved in them," Smith said. "There are a few other games where I feel as if the more experienced I get, there is less tension. That doesn't apply to the Old Firm game."Privately at least, Mowbray must be aware of a deeper meaning. Rangers' rampant form — they have scored 26 goals in their last six outings – contrasts markedly with the palpable sense that Celtic simply have not clicked under their current manager, not least among their own supporters.For a club with 51,000 season ticket holders, it must be an alarming sight for only 36,000 to turn up for a Boxing Day meeting with Hamilton; that, added to a potentially significant points deficit, illustrates how much Mowbray would value a win tomorrow.It is also apparent that the former West Bromwich Albion manager will seek at least a mini-overhaul of his team during this transfer window. Only an upturn in results will boost the Celtic board's faith in their manager.Yet it has been left to one of Mowbray's players to talk up the importance of a meeting of Glasgow's old foes. Danny Fox, raised on a diet of Merseyside derbies as an Everton supporter, sat among the Celtic support at Ibrox earlier this season because of injury."I come from a mixed family where my uncles support Liverpool and my dad supports Everton," said the full-back. "It's a bit of banter there but seeing the passion and hatred between the Old Firm fans first-hand at Ibrox was a bit of an eye-opener for me. It made me realise how much it means to the fans."Even when you're walking through the town you get a bit of abuse which you just have to laugh off. But I've also had Rangers fans speak to me who were absolutely fine so it's just a certain percentage of fans who are quite bitter. I'm paid to play football, not listen to people abusing me."Mowbray can only hope it is cheers, not jeers, that he is the recipient of by full-time tomorrow.CelticRangersScottish Premier LeagueEwan Murrayguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Seahawks' Pete Carroll on the 'meat grinder' in the NFL: 'I'm ready' New Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that he is a different person than the man who left the NFL after the 1999 season. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Realist Roberto Mancini does not believe Manchester City can win the title Roberto Mancini does not consider Manchester City to be potential Barclays Premier League champions. Not for the time being, anyhow. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Nadal faces knee tests after Australia exit • Nadal to undergo more scans on painful knee• Coach: 'There is something going on in there'Rafael Nadal will undergo further medical scans in Spain to determine the severity of the knee injury that forced him out of the Australian Open.Nadal retired while losing his quarter-final against Andy Murray due to discomfort in his right knee, the same knee that forced him to spend long periods off the tour with tendinitis, including missing Wimbledon.Uncle and coach Toni Nadal told Spanish media in Australia that "there is something going on in there, something that wasn't there before", but added that a preliminary ultrasound showed no "serious" problems.Australian OpenRafael NadalTennisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |