The Go Radio Football Show Podcast
Three Teams, One Scottish Premiership Title: The Tightest Race in Years
07 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the current state of the Scottish Premiership title race?
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Chapter 2: What led to the chaotic managerial situation at Celtic?
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Good evening, this is Paul Cooney with the Go Radio football show, live on Go Radio. And also on YouTube, as you can see, just go to the button, this is Go Radio, and you'll find us. Barry Ferguson is here, and Andy Walker as well. Andy, happy New Year to you. Happy New Year to everyone, yeah. We haven't seen you since 2025.
Chapter 3: How is Rangers reviving under Danny Röhl's management?
Not much has happened in the last week or so. Oh my goodness. I can't believe Celtic haven't got any signings in. I watched the game last night, Rangers-Aberdeen. I can't believe Rangers are above Celtic after the last couple of months and how we've spoken. But it makes for an astonishing title race. Barry, you said you would go live and vision on YouTube if Rangers were back challenging.
Andy didn't think it was going to happen. You're here, second top of the table after last night.
Yeah another good victory, I thought the first half performance was really good, they tailed off a wee bit in the second half but the main objective for Rangers at this moment in time is to continue to win games and they've certainly done that, look Aberdeen weren't any great shakes but look
Rangers sitting top of the league sorry second top of the league I wish they were top of the league and things are looking pretty in 2026 On Monday night I pressed you Barry and you said look Martin O'Neill should be Celtic's choice moments later it was and you said Rangers are going to win the league
Yeah, well, you put me on the spot.
That's my job, yeah. But listen, it's going to go right down to the wire. I did say that as well. I think Rangers sell taking hearts. There's a lot of football to be played. But as I said, I think it will go down to the final couple of weeks of the season. But if you'd asked me a couple of months ago, Paul, if Rangers were going to be in this position, I would have looked at you in a...
a strange way so fair play to Danny Rowe fair play to the players but as I said there's still a lot of football to be played the new set piece specialist for Rangers seems to be working going to ask Barry about it if you want to speak to Barry and Andy you know the number 0808 17 17 700 in our brand new studio Andy we went live during the show last night it was going so well we maybe should wait till later in the week the way it started there you look so fresh you've got a new wardrobe and everything you look fantastic thank you
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Chapter 4: Are Hearts the real title favorites in the Premiership?
Slater's still there yeah it's the best I've seen you look in a long time thank you very much a wee quick eight minutes in the sunbed as well so you're looking the part mate what about Martin O'Neill then Andy at your old club at Celtic it's been well 33 days an absolute shambles but Wilfred Nancey clearly that was the right decision Martin O'Neill is he is this the right thing to bring him in until the end of the season
Yeah, I think when they were going to bring him in for the second time I actually thought he might get the rest of this season and one more. He seems to have an appetite for getting back into management. Obviously when he was in for a short time a couple of months ago he did really well. And remember, this isn't a vintage Celtic team by any means.
I've got to say, I'm still shocked that they've not got players in at this moment in time. They need a striker. They need a wide player. They need a defender, a central defender. So I'm really surprised they haven't done business already. Because no matter who the manager is, Celtic need players. They need improvements.
how could they have got it so badly wrong though most people were saying look 7 out of 8 with Martin O'Neill the new guy coming in it's not as if he'd come from a top club he could have waited he could have found out more about Celtic about Scotland and if it's going well with Martin O'Neill why make that change it was a catastrophe well that might be too strong No, I think you're right.
Catastrophic, yeah.
And I think when you've been linked with the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Eddie Howe, Ange Poste-Coglou, Brendan Rodgers again, Martin O'Neill, all of them elite managers. And then you decide to go for someone who, you know, he's in the MLS, which is not the biggest standard. It was an astonishing move. It was an astonishing turnaround.
But then it's been a remarkable season when you look at events off the park at Celtic, when you look at the way Brendan Rodgers was treated in the immediate aftermath of him apparently resigning.
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Chapter 5: What drama unfolded with Aberdeen's technical director?
I mean, just that very personal attack on him was something that... I'm sure I'm not alone in finding it astonishing. But they got a new man in and I've got to say, it didn't work out. I'm sure he's got a good tactical brain, but he wasn't ready for a job of this magnitude. And it's got to be, I think it's down to arrogance that you don't change.
When you see things week after week and they're not happening, they're not working, surely you've got to change it. Surely that's part of a manager's bag. You've got options and he didn't seem to have any options. And ironically, Barry, in the first half on Saturday in the Rangers game, if Celtic had an Ademida or a Kyogo
Or, okay, Ian Acho came in on the last day of the window last time on loan, but Celtic might have been out of the park. They might have been three or four ahead if they had the striker that Brendan Rodgers was agitating for right throughout the summer.
Yeah, that was a high possibility. Look, I thought Celtic were good. Rangers were really poor. They could have been... Two or three up, no doubt about it. Jack Buckland pulled off some magnificent saves. And then the second half, obviously at half-time, Danny Rowe goes and makes changes. And then Celtic just couldn't live with it.
And Rangers were very strong and Andy used the point there about the manager being a bit arrogant.
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Chapter 6: What changes are happening at Kilmarnock with new management?
In game play, if a team's on top, you might have to change some things, whether it be a player, whether it be a formation. But he'd never done it. He'd never done it once when he came into the Celtic job. So that was surprising. But look, I thought it was a gamble to start with. And it's a gamble that certainly failed.
And I says when Mark O'Neill was in charge, why not keep him to the end of the season? Because he knows the club. he was getting results Celtic weren't playing great but the most important thing when you play football is to win games of football and that's certainly what Martin O'Neill was doing and that's just what Wilfred Nancy couldn't do
it's a bad habit isn't it it's not it's not a good habit to be in in Scottish football where the demands are so high the scrutiny of every word that he utters it's examined to death the press conference sorry on Friday ahead of the game on Saturday was almost bizarre did you not feel for him a seven minute answer to the media and then he was going to whoosh
Yeah, and again, I don't think there's anyone behind the scenes who's prepared to give him good advice. And I thought, I'm sure we discussed it, Paul, when he first came in, I thought the first thing he would do would be to embrace Martin O'Neill, sit down with Martin O'Neill, just get his chat, even just a look of sitting down with Martin O'Neill, this great, successful Celtic manager.
and just try and feed off him a little bit. But no one behind the scenes prepared to give him any good advice. So what's going to happen in the window for Celtic, for Rangers, for Hearts, top of the table? So Mark Weady last night said, I think it would be Hearts I'd have to go with. Charlie, when pushed, Charlie McGrew said he thought it would be Celtic.
Peter Grant said, let's wait till the end of the window. And remember that was Monday, he was on with you, Barry. And we expected it to be Martin O'Neill and it is.
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Chapter 7: How is Scotland preparing for its World Cup year?
He's going to wait until the end of May, isn't he, before he gives you an answer. Hedging his bets. What do you think? 0808 17 17 700. And it's been the era of directors of football, or what they call Barry, sporting directors, or football department chiefs, or whatever. Last night, what did you make of the Aberdeen technical director sitting right next to interim manager Peter Levin? Strange.
I don't know the reason why he felt the need to sit on the bench with Peter Levin. Let him go and do his job, sit up in the stand and watch the game. When I seen that, I was a bit baffled why that would be happening. But look, that's Aberdeen's choice. I thought Peter actually looked uncomfortable in the situation, if I'm being honest, when I was watching the game.
So, yeah, certainly sporting directors are certainly taking over football at this moment in time.
It's not easy, is it, Andy? And we've got Man United. We're mainly on Scottish football, but obviously Amarim wasn't happy being head coach, not the manager. He wasn't happy with the director of football. It's a changing game, and at Celtic, Paul Tisdale departed on Monday as well.
Because I guess he was the person who was in charge of the football department and thought it was a good idea to bring in Wilfred Nance. I mean, sanctioned by the board, but he seemed to be the prime mover.
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Chapter 8: What are the expectations for the upcoming January transfer window?
Yeah.
I think events off the field at Celtic this season have been awful, right from the word go, from the first utterance. Then you had that bizarre AGM, the attack on the Celtic supporters, the previous attack on the Celtic's website, a manager who'd won 11 out of 13 trophies. You've got this huge disconnect between Celtic and the board. I think it's still going to continue.
And it's one of the reasons, I think, why Hearts feel as though this might be their year. What do you think? I think Hearts are the favourites because they've played Celtic Rangers four times and they've won four times. So there's no fear. I think they've got a good manager, an experienced manager, a guy who handles the media very well, speaks very well.
It remains to be seen what they do in this January transfer window. But given how desperate Celtic were for players to come in, I'm amazed we're a week into the season and they still haven't... I know they made an addition with the right back from Bournemouth, but I'm amazed that they haven't got a striker in. I can't believe you're saying Hearts. I think that's what you're saying.
Because you're a former Hips player.
Hearts are favourites I still think Celtic have got the better squad so if you can get as Martin O'Neill did in the short time he was there the last couple of months ago if you can get the best out of them and you would hope they would be able to add two or three really good players that can make an impact between now and the end of the season I still think Celtic have got the better players but I would say right now hearts are favourites
No, they are the real deal under Derek McInnes, no question. And Tony Bloom might be saying, spend a bit of money in January as well. I see they've got a player in already.
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he backs him like he did in the summer. Look, January is sometimes a difficult window, but I'm sure Derek's identified some players. But they've had a great season. Listen, you can go on about...
braggers and etc etc but the best signing for Hartz has been the manager Derek McInnes what a difference he's made I think this time around about this time last year they were sitting bottom of the league so the job that Derek McInnes has done sorry at Hartz has been unbelievable and they'll go right down to the wire listen I think both Rangers Celtic and Hartz
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