The big guns enter the Scottish Cup this weekend, who is going to go all the way on the road to Hampden?
CRAIG: Rangers are the best team in the country right now. The Premiership table tells you that. They have to be favourites based on this term.
GAVIN: Rangers are obviously favourites and it’s hard to see past them but with the league wrapped up so early it’s all about them keeping up the high standards they have set. But on top form, they’re the ones to beat.
MICHAEL: Rangers are the favourites but they might struggle to maintain their intensity with the league wrapped up early. Celtic have not become a bad side over night and with a bit of momentum they can finish the campaign with the Scottish Cup.
Is Eddie Howe the right man to manage Celtic?
CRAIG: Eddie Howe would be a superb appointment. He plays attacking football and has a huge reputation. He’s also a good age.
GAVIN: He is the outstanding candidate and an exciting appointment both for Celtic and Scottish football. His lack of European experience is the only thing missing but he’s young and in the Brendan Rodgers mould in terms of his philosophy.
MICHAEL: Howe is an ambitious move and he fits the bill as a young, skilled, technical coach who likes his teams to play attractive football. It’s still a gamble as he might have had a £100m wage bill to play with in the EPL but he’s never managed in Europe or at a club the size of Celtic. It’s an intriguing move.
Who are the players who can make a late push for Stevie Clarke’s Scotland squad for the Euros?
CRAIG: David Turnbull would be the obvious one. Other than that, the squad looks reasonably well set in stone.
GAVIN: Ryan Gauld has to be in with a shout if he continues to perform the way he is in Portugal and St Johnstone’s Betfred Cup heroes Jason Kerr and Shaun Rooney must also be in contention if they can maintain their form.
MICHAEL: James Forrest and Ryan Jack should be in if they can get themselves fit. It’s a huge spell for Leigh Griffiths. If he can get in shape and scoring goals in the remainder of the season, the striker is a guy you’d want on board.
How do you rate Scotland’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup?
CRAIG: It was never going to be easy and nothing has changed. Five points is no disaster, but there’s little margin left for error.
GAVIN: Very slim. It’s a shoot-out with Austria for second place and after dropping four points in those first two qualifiers we’re already under pressure to pull off a really big result in Vienna or Copenhagen. If Austria win in Israel we’re up against it.
MICHAEL: Automatic was always a long shot and it’s now even more so after the initial results and from what we’ve seen from Denmark. A play-off place is probably the best we can hope for and there’s no reason we can’t get there.
