Scottish

Rangers’ Danny Rohl is among several names on Bayer Leverkusen’s shortlist for a new head coach, but Bild suggests that Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner is the top choice and Girona’s Michel is also a candidate. (Bulinews), external

Danny Rohl is not at risk of being sacked by Rangers and is unlikely to leave for Wolfsburg considering their relegation from the Bundesliga, but Union Berlin, in particular, and Bayer Leverkusen could be more attractive propositions amid Europe-wide interest in the 37-year-old. (Sky Germany), external

Kieran McKenna is committed to managing Ipswich Town after their promotion to the Premier League and will snub any advances from Celtic, Crystal Palace or Fulham this summer. (Football Insider), external

Celtic, Fulham and Rangers have made initial enquiries about winger Cameron Ashia, while Burnley, Cardiff City, Hoffenheim, Ipswich Town, Sheffield United and Stuttgart have registered an interest in the 21-year-old who could be available for as little as £500,000 despite Huddersfield Town taking an option to extend his contract by a further year. (Daily Mail), external

Celtic forward Daizen Maeda has emerged as a target for a number of Premier League clubs as the 28-year-old edges towards a move away from Glasgow this summer. (Football Insider), external

Lech Poznan have made a cut-price £2m offer for Celtic winger Luis Palma after the 26-year-old’s loan spell with the Polish club. (The National), external

Shin Yamada is on his way back to Celtic from the 25-year-old striker’s loan spell with Preussen Munster as head coach Alois Schwartz plans a squad overhaul following their relegation to Germany’s third tier. (The Herald), external

Celtic passed on signing Lewis Ferguson before the Scotland midfielder was sold for £2.5m by Aberdeen to Bologna in 2022 because they felt he was not good enough at penalty kicks, according to the 26-year-old’s agent. (Glasgow Times), external

In the Celtic dressing room, there is experience of reeling off wins to secure a title.

Winning their last five league games nods to the defending champions’ ability to harness experience.

They might not have been challenged to the final day much before, but in contrast to Hearts their winning experience is considerable.

“I honestly do feel that Celtic will be calm, just because they’ve been in this situation so many times before,” Halliday said.

“Now, some people don’t think that counts for much. For me, I personally do.

“Hearts have felt the pressure of being the team that’s been hunted for 30 weeks consecutively now, and they’ve handled it already extremely well.

“You talk about a manager’s role, I’ve no doubt whatsoever that Derek McInnes has played a huge part in that.”

O’Dea also believes that however different players and managers handle these situations, neither Celtic nor Hearts, who have come from behind to take points in their last five games, have shown signs of toiling.

“Both teams have an abundance of character,” he said.

“I don’t know if I could pick a winner in terms of the character from both groups, they’ve both shown it, so it makes for a good ending.”

The Scottish champions will receive £3.7m for reaching the Champions League play-off round, with another £16.1m to come should they reach the league stage.

That is before bonus payments of £1.73m per win, £605,000 per draw and £275,000 per finishing position in the table – with additional payments should they progress to the last 16 or beyond.

Reaching the Europa League proper guarantees £3.7m, with performance bonuses of £388,000 per win and £130,000 per draw.

There is £187,000 available for each position in the final Europa League table.

Performance bonus payments for the Conference League are £345,000 per win and £115,000 per draw, with £24,000 for each position in the table.

Should Celtic or Rangers finish third in the Premiership, it would be a multi-million drop in their expectations of income.

For Hearts, Champions League qualification would be game changing.

Even if they drop into the Europa League, this would bring in a guaranteed minimum of around £7.3m with ticket sales and other commercial revenues to be added.

Here, both sides decided to get down to it from the get-go. No feeling their way in, no shadow boxing. With Hearts going for the title and Hibs busting a gut to derail them, there was a school of thought that this was the biggest Edinburgh derby of them all in the league.

And it felt like it. Boy, did it fizz and crackle. Seven minutes in and Martin Boyle scored. His last derby and there he was, writing his own farewell script. Or so he would have hoped.

Jamie McGrath’s vicious free-kick, Beni Banigime dozing and in rushed Boyle – cool and calm, a sidefoot to the solar plexus of the visitors. Down the Hearts end, too. A perfect view of their nightmare start.

Easter Road basked not just in the sunshine but in the anxiety of their guests, the unspeakable horror of having their league dream buffeted by their greatest rivals.

What unfolded was pulsating, a red card for Sallinger only four minutes after Boyle scored, a daft act of handling the ball outside his own area and a call that was easier to make than the officials made it look.

Everybody knew that Sallinger was goosed on first, or second, viewing. The officials took five or six minutes. It was a calamity for Hibs.

The mood completely shifted and shifted some more when the news came through that Rangers had blinked first in the title race. Later, McInnes spoke of the importance of winning your first post-split game and he was right.

Hearts and Celtic are now on the front foot.

While those elements all give Hearts confidence, the team who arrives into the final five games in the best form is Rangers.

In the last 12 games, Danny Rohl’s side have taken five more points than Hearts and are just one behind in second place.

Martin O’Neill’s Celtic have gathered three more than Hearts over the same period, and the league leaders have suffered three of their five losses this term in those last 12 matches.

Hearts’ performances have dropped slightly in the second half of the season, which is why Rangers and Celtic have slowly closed the gap despite their own flaws.

Undoubtedly the absence of striker, joint top scorer, and captain Lawrence Shankland from January until late March has affected that, as well as influential midfielder Cammy Devlin for a similar period.

Midfielders Oisin McEntee and Tomas Magnussen missing the rest of the campaign is a blow, but left-back Harry Milne is due back soon and centre-back Stuart Findlay made his comeback against Motherwell.

Rangers have the form. Celtic, meanwhile, have the most experience of winning the league in their squad and dugout, which the Hearts boss believes is a factor, if far from being critical.

“It doesn’t give them any guarantees, but it certainly does help them,” he said.

“I don’t get caught up in that too much, to be honest. Really, it’s performances and just getting results and getting them any way you can at this stage.

“I understand that [narrative], but I actually don’t think in the cold light of day it’s the most important thing.”

When Don Robertson’s whistle peeped – it could just about be heard through the celebratory chants of the 3,000+ strong travelling support – Valakari let it all out.

The energetic manager was emotional, ecstatic and a little bit exhausted as he immersed himself in the post-match scenes.

The supporters were chanting his name from the 80th minute onwards and a few of his players lifted him up like they will do with the Championship trophy on Friday night after playing Raith Rovers – live on BBC Scotland.

He has masterminded what Williams calls “the most enjoyable season going and watching Saints since Tommy Wright was there”.

Wright, of course, oversaw the landmark 2014 Scottish Cup win during his impressive seven-year stint.

By no means does Williams’ sentiment diminish the cup double achieved under Wright’s successor Callum Davidson, but this has been a league campaign built on utter consistency – while the first 10 games were “totally brilliant”.

“It’s been nice to have that feeling back, but I think the novelty would wear off after one season,” he added, not wanting to get too familiar with the second tier.

Thankfully for those of a Perthshire-Saints persuasion, they can put their notifications for the Premiership back on. In two games time, their full attention will be back on the top flight.

How do they reckon they’ll fare once there, though?

“We’re in a decent place, better than we were last time,” Williams said.

“There’ll be a lot of guys maybe looking for more opportunities elsewhere next season, but hopefully the core of the squad can stay as it’d be good to see them have a crack at the Premiership because they’ve done us really well this season.”

That they have. Now they get to party just as hard too…

Manager John McGlynn says leading Falkirk out at a Scottish Cup final would represent the “pinnacle” of his career as the club prepare for a crucial last-four tie against Dunfermline Athletic this weekend.

The Scottish Premiership side face Neil Lennon’s men at Hampden on Saturday at 12:30 BST – live on the BBC – with a place in May’s showpiece at stake.

McGlynn has already led Falkirk to a top-six finish in the Premiership this term after securing back-to-back promotions from the third tier of Scottish football.

However, the 64-year-old is determined to cap a stunning season with the first major silverware of his managerial career.

“It would be a great honour to take the team out in a Scottish Cup final,” McGlynn told BBC Scotland. “For myself, [assistant coaches] Paul Smith and Steven McGinn, and all the backroom staff, it would reflect all the work that’s been put in.

“To take the team into the Premiership, be in a strong position and reach a Scottish Cup final – that would be the pinnacle of our careers.

“We know we’ll have to work extremely hard to get there and maybe need a bit of luck along the way, but walking out at Hampden for a final would be a very proud moment.

“We can’t look beyond Dunfermline. If we get through, then anything can happen.”