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Celtic lost for the fifth time in seven matches under Wilfried Nancy with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership on Tuesday night.

After successive wins for the French manager, when it looked like a corner had been turned after four straight losses, the Hoops have come crashing back down with another loss.

They remain three points behind Hearts in the Premiership table, but they are now only three points ahead of Rangers before their clash with their rivals on Saturday.

Whilst the focus will naturally be on the manager, given his poor start, players should also take responsibility for their poor performances on the pitch, including Kasper Schmeichel.

Why Kasper Schmeichel must be dropped

The experienced Dane missed out on the 4-2 win over Livingston through injury, which provided Viljami Sinisalo with his first appearance of the season between the sticks.

Schmeichel came straight back as the number one against Motherwell, though, and had produced a blunder with a wayward pass for Motherwell’s second goal.

Per FotMob, the veteran goalkeeper has now conceded 1.69 goals more than expected based on the xG against him in the Premiership, which places him 10th out of the 12 eligible goalkeepers in the division.

Last season, Sinisalo prevented 2.52 more goals than expected in six Premiership appearances for Celtic, per FotMob, which suggests that he has the potential to come in as an upgrade on the experienced stopper, whose powers appear to be waning.

Whilst Schmeichel should be dropped from the side for now, there is a Celtic player who should never start for the club again ahead of the January transfer window opening on Thursday.

The Celtic flop who must never start again

The Hoops have a couple of days to potentially bring a new signing in before their clash with Rangers, and they must push to do exactly that in order to drop one of their flops.

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Anthony Ralston started for the fifth successive match as the right-sided centre-back in Nancy’s back three system, and once again failed to impress. 67HailHail handed him a 2/10 player rating for his performance and stated that he is ‘out of his depth’, as he was caught out for the opening goal, with the forward between him and Auston Trusty.

That follows his 4/10 player rating against Livingston, 5/10 rating against Aberdeen, 4/10 rating against Dundee United, and 5/10 rating against St Mirren in the League Cup final from the same website.

This speaks to how consistently poor he has been across the five matches that Nancy has handed him starts in, and is backed up by former ESPN writer Andrew Miller describing him as a “Kilmarnock-level” player at the end of last month.

The team’s record in the Premiership with and without Ralston in the starting line-up further backs up the idea that he should not start for the club again.

25/26 Premiership

Without Ralston starting

With Ralston starting

Games

8

11

Wins

6

6

Draws

0

2

Losses

2

3

Goals conceded

6

11

Clean sheets

5

5

Stats via Transfermarkt

As you can see in the table above, Celtic have a much better win rate and defensive record when they do not start with the Scottish dud in their defence.

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What makes their record without Ralston all the more impressive is that he did not feature in either of the two losses against league leaders Hearts, which accounts for both losses and five of the six goals conceded in those eight games.

These statistics and his dismal performances in recent weeks under Nancy suggest that he should not be starting matches for Celtic, simply because they appear to be a worse team when he does.

It was reported earlier this week that the Hoops are eyeing a move to sign Julian Araujo, a right-back, on loan from Bournemouth in the January transfer window, and the club must push to get a deal over the line in the next couple of days.

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Signing Araujo would allow Nancy to instantly bench Ralston before Alistair Johnston returns from injury later in 2026, which would then leave at least two players ahead of the Scottish dud, preventing him from starting another game and possibly ending his Celtic career.

Romesh Kaluwitharana, who was in the Sri Lankan side which won the 1996 World Cup, has been appointed coach of the Malaysian squad on a short-term contract.Five applicants are on the short-list for the permanent position as national coach of Malaysia but none are able to join before July.”All the players are looking forward to Mr. Kaluwitharana’s arrival and it is a tremendous honour for all of us to have a coach of his experience,” Vishnu Suppiah, Malaysia’s vice-captain, said. “It was he along with Sanath Jayasuriya who changed the face of one-day batting and I am hoping he will be able to provide us with some good batting tips as Malaysia’s downfall in the past has been its batting.”

Ravi Shastri famously got the yips at Glamorgan in 1991 © Getty Images

What are the yips?
“Getting the yips” is a phrase used to describe a (mostly) mental affliction that prevents sportsmen from performing a repetitive task – such as bowling – in the presence of an audience. Most commonly prevalent among golfers, in cricket the syndrome usually affects bowlers, particularly left-arm spinners.How are the yips different from an attack of nerves, or a choke?
Getting the yips is not, unlike nerves, a passing phenomenon. It is akin to being trapped for long periods in the choking process.What causes it?
There is no one cause, but a change in bowling action to compensate for injury may be a trigger. Also, research has shown that bowlers with the yips may be overusing the analytical left side of their brains.What are the manifestations?
At nets, yippers generally feel everything is fine, only to fall to pieces in a match situation, losing length and line, and often both.Have any well known players been victims?
Fred Swarbrook, the Derbyshire left-arm spinner of the 1970s, was one of the first public cases. Ravi Shastri, Phil Edmonds, and Maninder Singh are among the better known players to have been affected.Is there a cure?
There is no fail-safe cure, but victims have found help in such measures as rubbing a soft pebble kept in the pocket before bowling, and in starting a spell from over the wicket. Research also suggests bowling in the nets against a friendly batsman, then going on to an unfamiliar batsman, then in the middle with nets, then without, and so on, may help.

Kyle Mills hasn’t had much to cheer in recnet times © Getty Images

Kyle Mills, the New Zealand seamer, has been ruled out for up to 12 months with a knee tendon problem which requires surgery.He was a late call-up to New Zealand’s squad in Australia and played just one match, taking 1 for 72 at Perth against the hosts. However, his injury prevented him taking the field again as New Zealand missed out on a place in the finals.Mills has been unable to sleep for the past week and painkillers have been ineffective so going under the knife is the only option. “He’ll have an operation as soon as possible on a patella tendon,” John Bracewell, New Zealand’s coach, said as the team arrived back at Auckland airport.”It’s devastating news, really – both for Kyle and the team, and also for what’s been a two-year programme to build him into one of the leading bowlers in world cricket.””It’s been a hard decision for him but he says he’s only going to let down the team if he tries to struggle through the World Cup and can only play every so often.”Bracwell added that a replacement, who will play in the Chappell-Hadlee series which starts on February 16, will be named after consultation with Sir Richard Hadlee in his role as selection advisor.

Rahul Dravid: “I enjoyed the partnership, but we’ll have to see on what happens in 3-4 days’ time to see who opens.” © Getty Images

Rahul Dravid has admitted that he had decided to open the batting “the night before the game”, adding that it was a move made with the interests of the team at heart. Adding that it was not a long-term solution, Dravid said that this decision, like all others, was taken to give his side the best chance to win the game on hand.”I’m not trying to make too many statements to my team,” he said in the post-match press conference. “My team-mates know me pretty well by now. There’s strategy involved and I am thinking of the best chance we have to get the right result. It’s not false bravado out there. It’s about who I think are the best people to play in different positions and situations. It’s about what is best for the team. I may not get all my decisions right, but I’ll try and take all of them so that it gives my team the best chance.”Though he revealed how much he had enjoyed the partnership, Dravid echoed Greg Chappell’s view that the opening situation would be reviewed on a match-by-match basis. “I enjoyed the partnership,” he continued, “but we’ll have to see on what happens in 3-4 days’ time to see who opens. I don’t think it’s a long-term solution. We have to try and see to pick a side to win a game. We’ll assess that when we go to Faisalabad after seeing the wicket.”Hailing Virender Sehwag’s effort as an “special” innings, Dravid spoke about the joy in watching such an aggressive batsman at the other end. “The pace at which Veeru scored was pretty exceptional,” he added. “Some of the shots he hit were a joy to watch from the other end. Even thought it was a flat wicket, some of the shots he hit against the spinners were special. It’s hard to match Veeru. He sometimes plays an incredible shot to a ball which I would have defended. It’s important not to get carried away. I needed to ensure I didn’t get out and put pressure on him.”He wasn’t too perturbed with Sehwag getting out, with the duo falling agonisingly short of the world record opening partnership. “Veeru plays that way – attacking and positive. He played a similar shot to get from 199 to 200. Lot of times, when people get out, it looks like why did they play that shot .. but when he’s on song there is some exceptional batting.”While not revealing about the composition of the bowling line-up for the next Test, Dravid, while not complaining about this pitch, hoped they would get a more sporting surface. “We need a good wicket that helps both batsmen and bowlers,” he said. “I won’t criticise the pitch as it’s not easy to prepare one. It’s tough to know what it will do, who it will support. I would like to think that the groundsman also wanted to prepare a good pitch. There are lot of factors involved – nature, soil, binding, clay, rolling … it’s not an exact science.”

Courtney Walsh has lent his support to Glenn McGrath’s bid to play in the 2007 World Cup© Getty Images

Courtney Walsh has backed Glenn McGrath to make it for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. Earlier, McGrath had declared his intention to participate in the tournament, saying that his fitness would not let him down. He captured 15 wickets at 11 apiece in the VB Series.Walsh praised McGrath’s match winning performance of 5 for 27 in the second final against Pakistan and reckoned that McGrath could maintain the form till the World Cup. “I think people carry on too much about age. It’s within his reach. It’s two years away and he has every chance if he looks after his body.”It also helps that Australia has a system that looks after the players and gives them a chance to rest,” quoted Walsh, who was in Sydney for a coaching assignment. “As long as he feels good and as long as he is doing a good job for the team, then he can carry on. It is interesting to have him around, especially because you need senior players there to help the younger guys.”Walsh’s verbal support was in stark contrast to Brian Lara’s claim last month that McGrath would not be fit enough to bowl in the 2007 World Cup. “He is a champion bowler but his age [McGrath will be 37 in 2007} could count against him. He’ll be an ageing fast bowler coming in to bowl on really nice batting tracks in the Caribbean,” Lara had said in January. “He might damage his reputation and frugal economy rate if he tried to help the world champions defend their Cup crown on flat wickets in the Caribbean.”Walsh has expressed huge respect for McGrath, who needs just 39 wickets to surpass Walsh’s record of 519 Test wickets. “McGrath is the best fast bowler in the world today – no question,” Walsh wrote in a newspaper column for . “I have a lot of respect for Glenn. He bowls well in any conditions and even when fatigued, his line and length rarely changes.”As a thinker, there is no better bowler. He can work a batsman out. I know Glenn is not far off my mark and he will go past me soon. I know he struggled a bit in the Caribbean. Looking at him here, you know he’s very much at peace with himself, very comfortable, and he’s doing the right things.”

Robert Croft has been called up by the England selectors for the Testseries in Sri Lanka. The Glamorgan captain becomes the 16th memberof the Test squad and his selection follows a Man of the Series performancefor England in the recent Hong Kong Sixes.”The selectors feel the need to have an extra spinner present inSri Lanka as past history indicates that spin might have a biggerpart to play than in Bangladesh,” said chairman of selectors DavidGraveney. “Ashley Giles and Gareth Batty were the original picked forthe tour and they played their part in the success in Bangladesh.Selection for the first Test match in Galle will be based, as youwould expect, on form and fitness.”

During his 37 years at Somerset County Cricket Club the popular former all-rounder Peter Robinson has undertaken almost every job that there is to be done at the club.Currently Robbo is health and safety officer, cricket manager, manager of the Somerset Board Eleven and Somerset Under-19s coach, to mention but a few of the responsibilities that he undertakes at the County Ground.Robbo has just accepted the invitation from the Lloyd and White Youth Cricket League to take over as their president.Speaking earlier this morning he told me: “The league committee wrote to me recently and asked if I’d like to become their president. I’m honoured to take on the job.”I’m looking forward to carrying out my duties, and hope to get round to see some of the league matches this season.”

Karnataka played host to Andhra Pradesh at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in the P Ramachandra Rao Trophy for the Under-22 and the match came to end as a draw on Saturday.Having won the toss on Thursday, Andhra decided to bat first and were helped on by some useful partnerships that kept the innings going. Andhra were all out for 333 in 91.3 overs as KV Lazarus picked 5/111 for Karnataka. For Andhra ASK Varma made a breezy 83 in 136 balls which included two sixes and nine boundaries. TK Ayappa Swamy made 79 in 121 balls which included 10 hits to the fence. There were useful contributions in the lower order from Shankara Rao (33) and M Faiq (40) hitting seven fours each.Karnataka made a steady start and kept going till they were bowled out for 390 in 121.5 overs. BM Rowland made 84 (10 fours) and Amith Kumar 89 with 12 fours were the main stay of the Karnataka innings. R Shanbal chipped in with 54 (6 fours, 1 six) adding 110 for the sixth wicket with Kumar. Faiq came good with the ball picking up 3/92. Karnataka gained the crucial first innings lead of 57 runs. Batting on the last day Andhra struggled against a determined Karnataka attack. M Aleem 4/53 and G Chaitra 3/42 reduced Andhra to 176/9 in 52 overs at the close of the match. ASK Varma with 31 top scored for Andhra as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Karnataka collected five points to Andhra’s three.

David Warner’s image makeover has been rewarded with his appointment as Steven Smith’s lieutenant, after the Cricket Australia board approved the recommendations of the selectors for the leadership team to succeed the retiring captain Michael Clarke.Smith had always been in line to be named as captain following his strong displays as stand-in for the injured Clarke during the home summer, but Warner has needed to do considerable work on his attitude on and off the field in recent times to grow into a role that will be pivotal in support.As the chairman of selectors Rod Marsh acknowledged, the 28-year-old Warner has come a long way since he was suspended on the previous Ashes tour for throwing a punch at Joe Root in a Birmingham bar. Alongside Smith, he has been Australia’s most prolific batsman in recent times, and has also this year toned down his self-appointed role as the team’s on-field “attack dog”, something he discussed with ESPNcricinfo in the West Indies.”We have reached a point in time where we’ve had to look at our leadership positions again with an eye to the future,” Marsh said. “David has matured and developed into an important senior figure in the Australian team. He has come a long way.”He had valuable experience captaining the Sunrisers in the IPL earlier this year and we are confident he will provide strong support to Steve as his deputy. We believe that he will respond well to the added responsibility of leadership.”Other contenders for the role included Mitchell Johnson, who had been appointed vice-captain of the limited-overs team in the past, but the selectors were always likely to settle on Smith and Warner after the latter’s recent work to mature as a cricketer. He will still have some work ahead of him to prove that progress to the rest of the world, who know him as much for his abrasive manner as his explosive batting.Smith has emerged as Australia’s leader over the past 18 months, first becoming an integral member of the team in all formats and then showing his captaincy ability when Clarke was unavailable against India. He has also captained New South Wales to the 2014 Sheffield Shield and the Sydney Sixers to the 2012 Big Bash League title.”We have had a clear succession plan in place for the captaincy with Steve Smith gaining valuable experience leading the Australian Test Team while Michael Clarke was recovering from injury last season,” Marsh said. “When Michael made his decision to retire last week it was a very straightforward decision for us to nominate Steve as his successor.”He has big shoes to fill but everything about him suggests he is the right man for the job. At 26, he is a fine young man with extraordinary talent, excellent leadership qualities and a terrific temperament. He is highly regarded by the selectors and we congratulate him on being appointed to the role on an ongoing basis. He should be incredibly proud.”The CA chairman Wally Edwards said the nine directors had concurred with the selectors’ recommendations after some discussion at their August board meeting in Melbourne. “We have all seen Steve Smith’s clear leadership potential and believe he can perform an excellent job for Australian cricket over many years,” he said.”We supported the recommendation to appoint David Warner as vice-captain, noting his role as a leading batsmen, his development and emergence as a leader within the team. We congratulate both men on their appointments.”Smith and Warner will lead Australia in the limited-overs matches that follow Clarke’s farewell Test at the Oval, before they travel to Bangladesh for their first overseas assignment together.