Rickoza

The Draw WILL be live on UEFA.com.... YOOFA

Changing channels: SPL ready to line up new television deal The SPL are preparing to pull the plug on troubled broadcaster Setanta today to secure a lucrative new television deal with either Sky or ESPN. Scotland's top-flight have been involved in delicate negotiations for weeks in a bid to prevent their clubs going into financial meltdown as the Irish-based company hurtles towards administration. Unless Setanta are saved at the eleventh hour, an announcement on a new deal is expected this week. Sportsmail has learned that Disney-owned ESPN are willing to pay £112.5million to conclude a four-year deal and Sky up to £87.5m. Changing channels: The SPL are set to follow the English Premier League's lead and drop their deal with troubled pay TV broadcasters Setanta Sports Setanta's outlay for the same period was £125m, but they are now close to collapse following the English Premier League's decision to terminate their contract with immediate effect. Despite Sky's offer being lower than ESPN's, the Rupert Murdoch-owned company could still offer better exposure for the Scottish game. It leaves the SPL in a similar position to last summer, when Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen all favoured a deal with Sky during television rights negotiations, while the rest of the top 12 clubs opted to extend the Setanta contract for four years to 2010. Friday's collapse of US tycoon Len Blavatnik's £20m rescue plan for Setanta appears to have sounded the death knell for the broadcasters, and they could go into administration as early as today. The SPL have already had to bail out clubs to the tune of £3m after Setanta missed the final payment of last season's agreement. But the league remain confident that Setanta's demise will not trigger catastrophic effects for their cash-starved clubs. 'This Setanta crisis has been going on for weeks now and it would have been negligent for the Premier League to sit back and do nothing behind the scenes during this time,' a senior Scottish football source told Sportsmail. 'The problem is that you can't go public when you already have a deal in place with Setanta. But the truth is that talks have been ongoing with two major television companies over the past four weeks. 'We should be hearing an announcement on that within the next week. Nobody is holding out any hope for Setanta,' he said. Bidding closes today in the auction for the 46-game package that Setanta held with the English Premier League. Sky and ESPN are expected to split them down the middle. The same broadcasters will then compete for the rights to show live SPL matches, with no terrestrial broadcaster believed to be willing, nor able, to find the funds to screen Scottish football. What is unclear is how Sky, if they take over the contract, would fit Scottish fixtures into an already packed schedule of football games. Asked whether ESPN would bid for the SPL packages, spokesman Damion Potter said yesterday: 'It's a hypothetical situation as those rights are not available.' In other news, Livingston today face slipping into administration for the second time in the club's short 14-year history if chairman Angelo Massone fails to settle a £10,000 rent payment with West Lothian Council.

Any media company which lists amongst it's titles such as "The People's Friend" needs to be taken with a large pinch of salt. Pile of keech.

Go Girls!

The certainly did do all right. We beat FHW 2-0 (that's ALWAYS a great result), lost 1-2 at Airdire in the diddy cup (a late Las oggy), beat Saint Johstone 3-2 in Perth (remember the mental celebrations to Stevie Nicholas's last-minute winner????) and we were absolutely robbed thanks to a late, late, late Maloney dive to steal a penalty winner at home to Shellic.

I'm reluctant to cancel just now in case they do survive. I'd say it's nigh-on impossible for them to do so now.

They are, as of 1st January 2008.

Be a bit of a colour clash if we get Birkirkara. An interesting strip that... Birkirkara FC Be a superb time of the year to get an away tie in Malta!

Jordi Cruyff at Fir Park? Could be! I remember we played Albion Rovers in a Friendly inearly July 2001 when Roberto Martinez was "taking part". Who was sat at the back of that old ramshackle stand they have but Jordi! Was quite an eye-opener that night!

According to this, Beevers is on his way to us after all.... Ex West Brom boss Tony Mowbray becoming the new boss of Celtic is hardly news to Imp fans. It is however to Motherwell and Colchester target Lee Beevers who`s on off move to 'Well, and an alleged pre contract agreement may now come to fruition. Whilst Mark McGhee had been in the running for an old firm role, Beevers had also been considering a counter offer from long-term admirer and ex Celtic legend Paul Lambert. It would appear Beevers gamble to take his chances might have hit the jackpot. Last seasons impressive displays in League 2 could well be rewarded by European Football and an outing or 8 against the old firm next season. We wish Beevers well after offering us his versatile all-heart services since his £50,000 transfer from Boston. Playing in front of over 50,000 four times next year would be any players dream.

Nijholt speaks in the Herald..... Terminator salvationMOTHERWELL: Luc Nijholt tells Stewart Fisher that he would love to return to Scottish football if the Fir Park club’s board can match his ambitionLUC NIJHOLT has urged Motherwell to get in touch with him regarding the vacant manager's job at the club. The Dutchman, who is still fondly remembered from his role in the club's 1991 Scottish Cup winning team, is out of work following a successful season as assistant manager to Co Adriaanse at Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg and has emerged as an intriguing and credible candidate to replace Mark McGhee, who left for Aberdeen this week. His competition for the role includes Gary McAllister, Derek Adams, Terry Butcher and Chris McCart but Nijholt has told the Sunday Herald he would be interested in a return to Scottish football - assuming, that is, that the Fir Park club's board can match his ambitions. From his time as a youth coach at AZ Alkmaar, to a three-year stint as a manager in his own right at down-at-heel Dutch club Stromvogels/Telstar, Nijholt has prided himself on developing youngsters. But a little bit of cash for experienced players would help too. And with two other nameless clubs, neither of them Dutch, also interested in his services, Motherwell - already facing a July 2 start to their Europa League campaign - have another incentive to get things moving sooner rather than later. "Absolutely it appeals to me to get back into working as a manager again," Nijholt said. "I have to think about it, but I definitely want to come back to Scotland one day. Whether it is this time or the next time I don't know yet. I need to speak to my UK agent this weekend and work out if I will apply. On the other side, Motherwell have my number because I applied two years ago for the job. They should have my number somewhere."It also depends what kind of future the club has," he added. "I am used to working with young players - all those I work with are always pleased and they always give me a lot of compliments - but it depends on what the club want to achieve." For all the ifs, buts and maybes, the Dutchman's mind this week already seemed to be working out the logistics of the role. Nijholt kept his home in Holland during his season in Salzburg, but - save his 19-year-old son Gianluca, who is a youth team player at FC Utrecht - would have no problems uprooting the rest of his family should he end up in Scotland. "The last time my family stayed in Holland, when I went to Austria, so that is key as well," Nijholt said. "They will be travelling as well if the club decides that it wants to take me." Nijholt was a steely character during his playing days - YouTube footage exists of him inviting Roy Keane to have a square go during his time at Swindon - and a season in the presence of coaching royalty in the form of Adriaanse has clearly rubbed off on him. That all came to an end when Adriaanse declined the Ajax and Alkmaar jobs to take a sabbatical from the game, but the 47-year-old Dutchman feels Motherwell would be landing a manager with the same belief in attacking football and a strong disciplinarian streak if they go down the foreign route. "At the moment Co is on holiday," Niholt said. "He wants to have a wee break although whether it is a sabbatical or just a few months we don't know yet. But he told me before I started working with him that one or two years working with me then you go your own way' because he rated me quite highly and said that I had to be sure to move on to be a coach or a manager somewhere. "We worked together at AZ when I was doing the youth policy there and we are quite similar. We like attacking football and we are disciplined coaches. In terms of personality we are different, but as coaches we are similar. That is the reason why we have worked together twice already. This year we reached the championship so we managed to reach our targets." Nijholt would be a popular, if somewhat left-field, choice among the Motherwell fans. In addition to his failed attempt at the job prior to the appointment of McGhee, he was back at Fir Park as recently as last summer to participate in the Phil O'Donnell tribute match. It was an emotional occasion, especially considering that O'Donnell named one of his sons Luke, at least partly in his team-mate's honour. He is reasonably up to speed with the club's playing staff and recent results, and his English is almost flawless. "I played a part in an excellent team and an excellent squad, we were a lot of friends together," Nijholt recalled. "And of course, the biggest prize we won was the Scottish Cup in 1991. I am always keen to watch how Motherwell are doing. They didn't start that well this season but they finished very well." The only downside of Nijholt's CV is the fact that he has only spent three years outright as a manager, during which he narrowly missed the Eredivisie play-offs during his time at Stromvogels/Telstar. "It was one of the poorest clubs in Holland," he explained. "We had to work with young players, and although we played some lovely football, we needed just a little but more money to spend. But it was still a good experience. I picked a small club because I wanted the experience of being a manager. I could just have signed another contract there but I decided to move on, because three years was a long time for me." Nijholt's fiery playing style at Fir Park earned him the nickname The Terminator'. He might just be the man to end their search for a new coach.

Love Valletta! The national stadium at Ta'Qali, where I imagine any tie would be played, has seen a lot of renovation and looks really good these days. Ta'Qali

Would that be as in this pic?

He's also since said he wouldnt come here if we didn't have the Sultana cash anymore. Not exactly the "I love my old club"....

If MM had come along and said "I'll be here two years then, no matter what, I'm off" then we'd have accepted that. Signing an extended, vastly-improved contract then tarting yourself for anything that came up aint th eway to go about things.

Sultana have started to take now customers.... TROUBLED Setanta started signing up subscribers again last night amid growing hopes of a £40million rescue. Russian-born tycoon Len Blavatnik's £20million deal for a 51 per cent stake was yesterday close to being completed. Senior sources say another £20million will come from other investors - giving the firm a new lease of life. Blavatnik's injection of cash will come through his company Access Industries. Yesterday Blavatnik's spokesman said: "We can confirm we submitted a proposal to the Setanta board to acquire a majority interest, refinancing the company. "The proposal is subject to a number of pre-conditions being met. "Access believes this proposal would secure the future of the broadcaster for customers, football and employees." Other investors will make up the rest of the cash, with the deal due to be sealed within a week. The money could secure the future of some SPL clubs, as it emerged several could go under if the channel could not afford to pay for its exclusive deal to broadcast matches. League bosses tried to reach a deal for the £3m owed earlier this week but left empty handed. Setanta's board are so confident the proposal will go ahead they began taking on new subscribers for the first time since last Tuesday. A Setanta source said: "This is fantastic news for the business." A source added: "We have heard the vibes are positive but we are waiting to see how it all pans out. "There is £3million outstanding, which needs to be sorted out." Blavatnik, 52, fled Russia with his family in 1978. He founded Access Industries in 1986. It now has interests in Europe and the US. Blavatnik, who is worth £4.25billion and describes himself as a proud American, has a share in Warner Music Group and is involved with Top Up TV. His magic touch deserted him when he invested in chemical company LyondellBasell. It collapsed in January, leaving huge debts for creditors including Royal Bank of Scotland..

But you are wrong there. MM DID stay for his own personal financial advantage. Where do you think the cash for the new pitch went last year?

That's interesting to hear! Did he have any insight on the new man in charge?

Craig Broon and Frank McAvennie. Not a blonde in the country would be safe from these two..........

That's true. Apparently they trialled it last season in some youth comps and it was a big success. I can imagine that a lot of the shirt-pulling etc will stop now, if not a barrowload of pens will occur.

Is it paper talk? Was he really offered it, or a position within the club and only as interim manager until a full-time appointment? Whatever, he could never have been a good appointment as manager. Not unti lthere was real evidence of experience, and he hasn't too much of that as yet.

Last time I was this annoyed about someone leaving our club was when McLeish left. McGhee has said and done so much more than when he was with us for over a month so it seems and he's only been gone a couple of days!

Seems Leitch is meeting Hughes as we read.......... New Aberdeen boss Mark McGhee is wasting no time in working the transfer market as he bids to rebuild the Dons in time for next season. Motherwell's out-of contract midfielder Stephen Hughes is high on the former Fir Park manager's list, but he admits he faces competition from Hearts. "Stephen knows I would like to bring him to Aberdeen," said McGhee said. "Scott Leitch (McGhee's assistant) is meeting with Stephen in Glasgow this weekend where we will talk to him about it further. "Apparently he has been offered a very attractive contract from Hearts so there is competition for people like Stephen Hughes. "I hope the fact that I am here is a factor for Stephen. "But young players like Stephen Hughes, who have a young family, are entitled to try to provide for their family and therefore try to get the best deal possible. "Working with me again won't be at the top of his list of reasons for choosing a club but if there comes a point where we are neck and neck with someone else then hopefully because it is me that will sway it." Respect The 52-year-old insists he will not make a habit of raiding his old club out of respect, coupled with his tight transfer budget. "I'm not going to go back there and start pillaging Motherwell. I have too much respect for what they are trying to do. Stephen Hughes is a different kettle of fish as he is out of contract and available. "There are some great players at Motherwell who are going to go on and become even better. But at this moment in time they would be out of our price range." McGhee admits that funds are limited at Pittodrie this summer but he is content with what he has to work with and also suggests he may have to wait until the January transfer window to strike some deals. "Any football manager would always want to spend more than he is given. If Real Madrid can pay £80million for a player then there appears to be no real limit to what can be spent. "But in terms of competing with the other SPL clubs the budget is a good budget. "This is a club that can attract players. I know in recent years it has been difficult to do that but I think if the team can make it into the Europa League and maybe find a bit of money we can attract a couple of better players at Christmas." Aberdeen's director of football Willie Miller has said McGhee will be supported as he bids to bolster his new team. "I think we already have an exciting squad but we have to solidify that. Mark knows what he has to work with in terms of brining in new players," Miller said. "We have invested heavily in youth development in the last five years and we are beginning to see the fruits of that now. Mark is excited at working with the young talent but he also has some finance available to bring in new players as well."

Nijholt now has two years more experience in a management situation than he had then, and the most recent of tose under a top world-class manager. He's got to be a serious candidate, certainly worthy of an interview and serious consideration. Gannon would look like a superb appointment too.

Hmmm, not quite that clear cut. He was virtually on the plane to Vilnius before deciding against it. Not exactly putting us first, if he'd done that it would have been instant dismissal of their approach. Think it had something to do with a rather large increase in his wage packet, not putting Motherwell first.