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Dermot Desmond could spark real change at Celtic by firing head of football operations Nick Hammond, and not just sacking Neil Lennon.

What’s the story?

The Hoops have endured a terrible season in the Scottish Premiership thus far, with their hopes of an incredible ten-in-a-row title triumph lying in tatters.

That has seen reports in recent days suggest that Desmond is planning a major overhaul of the club, with intense pressure on manager Lennon, and backroom figures like Hammond and chief executive Peter Lawwell.

Speaking to Football Insider, former Scotland manager, Alex McLeish, said: “I have seen a lot of text messages saying things like that and I wondered if it was fake news, whether Dermot had said anything of the kind.

“Everybody’s under pressure, with the Celtic results and the expectations of Celtic, they’re all under pressure, no doubt. If you don’t get the results, then you don’t win games, and you end up, you don’t have a job.”

Desmond must fire Hammond

With reports saying that Hammond’s job is under “major threat” at Celtic Park, it’s no surprise to see why. As the club’s recruitment chief, much of the Hoops’ transfer business all ends up at his door, and he needs to bear huge responsibility for the way some of Celtic’s signings have panned out.

Big-money recruits like Albian Ajeti haven’t worked out – he hasn’t completed the full 90 minutes once in the Scottish Premiership this season – whilst even loan signings like Shane Duffy, continue to disappoint week-in and week-out.

Then there’s his lack of forward planning and mismanagement of players like Odsonne Edouard and Olivier Ntcham. The French duo have both been linked with exits for some time now, and yet rather than cash in on them earlier and bring in a decent chunk of money, they’re now slashing some of their most talented players’ prices.

Sacking Lennon may just end up being a temporary fix, with another manager coming and the same old tired backroom set-up still in place. Getting rid of Hammond and hitting the reset button fully could hold the key to sparking real change at Celtic sooner rather than later.

Yerry Mina was a disappointment for Carlo Ancelotti despite Everton’s amazing 5-4 FA Cup victory at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

The Colombian was recalled to the starting line-up for the Goodison Park affair having been rested at Manchester United last Saturday, but was unable to demonstrate why he was right to be brought back into the side.

Everton were far from a resolute unit in defence against Spurs and needed goalkeeper Robin Olsen to produce two sublime saves to deny the visitors a 3-0 lead in the first-half, having seen those in front of the AS Roma loanee frequently leave him wanting more.

Mina was particularly suspect in the second period when he gifted Erik Lamela a chance to test Olsen once again, with the Argentine maestro able to play a quick one-two with Heung-Min Son to get in behind and lift the ball into the back of the Blues’ net.

The former FC Barcelona defender positioned himself to go with Lamela’s run only to be caught flat-footed when Son played an instant pass through, leaving the towering 6 ft 5 titan desperately trying to stick a foot out to no avail.

Gylfi Sigurdsson had found himself at fault for two of Tottenham’s goals on Wednesday night when he failed to contain Davinson Sanchez at corners, yet atoned for his errors by producing a vastly influential display to have a hand in four of the five goals Everton struck.

Alex Iwobi also left supporters underwhelmed by his performance, as a quick search of his name on Twitter shows, with the Nigerian unable to create many chances and eventually taken off for Bernard moments after Richarlison put the Toffees 4-3 up.

Yet Mina was worse than Iwobi, having failed to make amends for his role in Lamela’s strike and often prove to be a target for Tottenham to exploit.

Mina and Iwobi shared SofaScore’s lowest match rating among those who started for Everton at 6.2 out of 10. Yet the £18m-rated Colombian saw his night end with even less merit with WhoScored, who marked him at a game-low 5.4 thanks partly to his role in Lamela’s goal.

That’s because he also failed to offer any successful tackles having not attempted to win possession in a challenge once, and made no interceptions while Lucas Digne broke up Spurs’ play on three occasions, Michael Keane once, Ben Godfrey twice, Abdoulaye Doucoure once and Tom Davies twice.

Ancelotti can usually rely on Mina to at least attempt one tackle a game with the £120,000-per-week centre-half winning 1.1 of 1.3 per outing in the Premier League this season, along with offering 1.1 interceptions.

Mina additionally lost four of his five total duels in the midweek affair, with the 26-year-old unable to live up to his usual standards of 4.9 won a game with a 63% success rate in the top-flight over 18 outings thus far this term.

The defender now faces an anxious few days before Everton host Fulham on Sunday, when his place in the side could once again come under threat.

AND in other news, Everton face heightened competition for a 17-y/o talent seen as the heir to a £101k-p/w colossus…

Tottenham Hotspur are back in Premier League action this lunchtime as they look to bounce back from midweek heartache with a trip to rock-bottom Sheffield United.

And Jose Mourinho heads to Bramall Lane with an encouraging and timely injury boost…

What’s the latest?

Speaking ahead of the encounter in his pre-match press conference, the 57-year-old revealed that he has Steven Bergwijn available for selection, having missed their last two outings in all competitions.

When asked if the Dutch winger was good to go against the Blades, he told reporters, via football.london:

“Yeah, he was ill. He was ill the week before, the week of Marine, and then he trained with the team only one day, which was the day before we played Fulham.”

Selection nightmare

Whilst this serves as hugely positive news, it does, however, hand Mourinho a fresh selection headache for that right-wing spot in his starting XI.

Against Marine, he turned to Lucas Moura, who had a pretty good game by all accounts, which was topped off by a sublime free-kick goal, but in the Fulham draw this week, Mourinho elected for a surprise pick in Moussa Sissoko on the flank.

That decision didn’t work out, as we’ve explained here, so it’ll give the Spurs boss a huge question – Moura? Erik Lamela? Gareth Bale? or Bergwijn?

Indeed, he could turn back to the Brazilian as he did not feature at all against the Cottagers, though Lamela’s return in midweek also poses an interesting option as he looked bright in a short 15-minute cameo.

Whilst Bale can’t be too far away from finally making an impact in the top-flight having started just one Premier League match since his sensational return to north London.

Meanwhile, Bergwijn is by no means guaranteed an instant return despite seemingly being the first-choice in the role.

Yes, he has started seven of his 11 appearances in the competition, but Mourinho revealed earlier in the month that he had “physical problems,” so he may not be risked from the off.

The 23-year-old has failed to score this term but has provided four assists, and as we outlined in this article, the wide man does so much more than what his statistics show.

After the win over arch-rivals Arsenal, Mourinho dubbed Bergwijn “incredible” despite failing to contribute to either of their two goals, which tells you all you need to know about the manager’s faith in him and whether or not he’s doing what’s asked of him.

It speaks volumes that Sissoko was played in the role just a few days ago even though both Lamela and Moura were available for selection, which is why Bergwijn’s return is a big boost for Mourinho and Spurs alike.

As you can see, the ‘Special One’ has plenty to mull over ahead of kick-off this afternoon.

We think the £25m Dutch winger will end up getting the nod, but don’t be surprised to see either Moura or the Argentinian start given Bergwijn’s fitness concerns.

AND in other news, £30m “disgrace” must be axed from starting XI vs Sheffield United…

After finally ending a wretched run of form in the Premier League on Saturday, Arsenal head into their clash against Brighton tonight hoping to pick up some further momentum.

Mikel Arteta’s side put in an impressive display to beat London rivals Chelsea 3-1, and the Spaniard will no doubt be reluctant to make too many changes to his starting line-up.

But with the games coming thick and fast, the Arsenal boss may feel like he has no choice, and with that in mind, below is a look at how the Gunners might line up against Graham Potter’s side on Tuesday evening.

In goal, Bernd Leno will be looking to add to his penalty heroics at the weekend by keeping a clean sheet, whilst the back four is also likely to remain the same.

Central midfield could be the first area in which Arteta decides to shake things up, with Dani Ceballos ready to come in for Mohamed Elneny and provide a little bit more creativity in the engine room.

Further forward, it was the youngsters who really impressed for the Gunners on Saturday, with Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe adding a bit of spark and energy, whilst Bukayo Saka added to his growing reputation with a goal.

The trio will be hoping to be given another start, but Arteta may play with a bit more caution, especially when it comes to Martinelli. The 19-year-old has only just returned to first-team action following a long spell out injured, and given the fact he played against Manchester City and Chelsea back to back, the Gunners boss may feel he needs a little breather.

That could see Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang make his return on the left-hand side, with Alexandre Lacazette set to lead the line once again after scoring from the penalty spot at the weekend.

Predicted XI: Leno; Bellerin, Holding, Mari, Tierney; Ceballos, Xhaka; Saka, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang; Lacazette.

Speaking in a press conference before this afternoon’s FA Cup trip to Marine, Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho confirmed the latest on Giovani Lo Celso and his absence – going on to say that he is ‘not going to play’ for the next few weeks due to his hamstring injury.

Lo Celso was shining in the number 10 role for Tottenham just before his lay-off, becoming a threat just behind star attackers Son Heung-min and Harry Kane.

Mourinho confirms Lo Celso latest

Alongside Tanguy Ndombele, the Argentine had been rotating as an attacking midfielder and put in some dazzling displays for the Lilywhites.

However, after picking up an injury to his hamstring, Lo Celso still faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines as Mourinho confirms the latest on his absence – with the Portuguese revealing he will remain unavailable for the next few weeks.

“Gio is injured. I don’t know for how long but he is not playing in the next few weeks, it is not a simple situation, he is not going to play in the next few weeks,” he said.

“Lamela maybe [will be involved]. I am waiting for tomorrow. So tomorrow, last day. Lamela possible.”

Transfer Tavern take

Described as ‘exciting’ by midfielder Harry Winks, Lo Celso had grown into a key attacking figure for the Lilywhites – but this news indicates that Spurs fans will not see him back in action for a while and will certainly miss this afternoon’s trip up north.

Gabriel Agbonlahor, speaking to Football Insider, reacted to this development and insists it is a ‘big blow’ for Tottenham.

When he will return for Spurs remains to be seen, but fans will be hoping it is soon rather than later.

In other news: Daniel Levy has entered talks to sign this ‘leader’ for Spurs, find out more here.

David Moyes can afford to lose rumoured Sporting Kansas City target Winston Reid without impacting West Ham United one iota.

What’s the word?

According to MLSsoccer.com, SKC are open to a permanent move for Reid should the New Zealand international and Major League Soccer outfit agree to there being a mutual benefit in remaining together following his year on loan at the Children’s Mercy Park.

Sporting Kansas took a punt on Reid approaching the end of the 2020 winter market after the defender’s relentless onslaught of injuries left the 32-year-old out of action for two calendar years.

Reid is expected to be greeted with a multitude of potential suitors back in England come the New Year once his temporary spell in America is over, having helped SKC to reach the MLS Play-Offs as a frequent member of Peter Vermes’ plans with eight starts in 10 regular-season appearances.

The 25-cap international has re-established himself in the game, too, after shrugging off the early cobwebs to offer Vermes encouraging signs that he can make an impact when needed.

Reid will have two-years remaining on his £70,000-per-week West Ham contract once his Sporting Kansas loan expires, but is unlikely to be afforded a role at the London Stadium having quit the Premier League as David Moyes’ arrival altered the promising picture he anticipated under Manuel Pellegrini.

“I was on the schedule to play games under the previous manager, but then he got fired [and] everything changed,” Reid told The Athletic. “But that’s part of football – sorry, soccer – and I’ve been in football long enough, so I understand the mechanisms.

“And it’s totally fine. West Ham has to do what’s best for the club and I have to do what’s best for me, and I feel really good about this opportunity.”

Sporting Kansas hold an option to turn Reid’s loan spell into a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.

Set him free

Should Reid and SKC agree that there would be mutual benefit to remaining with one another following his loan spell, West Ham must not stand in the 32-year-old’s way and allow the centre-half to secure a transfer as his future is far from the London Stadium.

Injuries have seen Reid’s importance to the Hammers dissipate with his last outing in claret and blue coming during the 2017/18 campaign, when he was stretchered off during a relegation tussle with Swansea City after his right knee buckled under his own weight early in the first-half.

Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena then arrived in east London that summer, while Moyes has seen the best from Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell in a five-man defence this term.

Reid is a defender of admirable talent and one who former England international Danny Mills insists can pull people together thanks to his commanding presence, but is certainly now one Moyes and West Ham can more than live without.

“Just a voice when things aren’t going quite perfect, a voice of authority, a commanding figure to say: ‘Right, we’re going to do this is what we’re doing, this is what I want you to do.’ It can make such a difference,” Mills told Football Insider.

“It’s not always about how good the player is, it’s the authority that he commands, the respect he has from everyone else and that organisational skill.”

AND in other news, GSB would be heading for disaster replacing a key David Moyes player with a “fantastic” prospect.

West Brom’s return to the Premier League couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start as they find themselves winless after seven matches.

The Baggies sit third from bottom on just three points – and with basement boys Burnley holding a game in hand, it could be ever so much worse.

It’s thought that the pressure is now on Slaven Bilic and his position as manager of the Midlands outfit, perhaps quite unfairly given it’s Spurs before the international break, and then Manchester United after it.

You’d imagine the benchmark for those two matches would be two points, even if they had been unbeaten thus far.

As we have already mentioned here at Football FanCast, the Croatian really needs to deploy his star man, Matheus Pereira, through the middle. After all, he provided five goals and 13 assists playing in the number ten role during their promotion-winning campaign.

To enable this to happen, Bilic needs to find a viable option to play on the right flank and he can take his pick from Kyle Edwards, Matty Phillips, Callum Robinson and Kamil Grosicki.

There are serious doubts over the first two names and their suitability to this level of football whilst Robinson, who joined permanently this summer, is primarily a left-sided option that can also play up front.

That leaves an interesting question mark next to Poland’s recent hat-trick hero, Grosicki. Indeed, the 32-year-old was on the verge of leaving the club on the domestic deadline but his loan move to Nottingham Forest fell through.

Although it was a switch that the veteran winger didn’t really want to make as he wanted to stay and fight for his place, as revealed in an interview with Sportowefakty. That’s what Bilic needs, fighters.

He’s since been linked with a January move to Championship rivals Middlesbrough (per the Sunday Mirror (02/11, page 65) – but let’s try him out in the Premier League first, Bilic.

Grosicki has only ever played 15 times in the English top-flight and that was during Hull City’s relegation campaign. He still managed to deliver five assists, which is a pretty decent return.

His form for the Yorkshire outfit newcomers, delivering 26 goals and 22 assists from two-and-a-half Championship seasons, was enough to convince Luke Dowling to strike in January.

Former Tigers teammate Jackson Irvine once dubbed the Poland star “unplayable” and claimed that “you can’t afford to give him that much pace to run in behind” whilst ex-boss Nigel Adkins described him as a “massive threat to anyone.”

Whilst Grosicki is still at the Hawthorns, Bilic ought to utilise him, starting this weekend.

AND in other news, Guochuan Lai on verge of a cowardly move that would eclipse Hegazi sale…

Carlo Ancelotti is facing a selection dilemma in midfield when Everton return to action, after Gylfi Sigurdsson started the international break in sublime fashion with a Man of the Match display as Iceland beat Romania in a crunch UEFA Euros Qualifier.

Iceland will now take on Hungary for a place at next summer’s postponed tournament following their 2-1 win over Romania, in which Sigurdsson struck home twice before the break to send Erik Hamren’s side through to the final qualifying tie.

Sigurdsson broke the deadlock in the 16th-minute when he buried a left-footed effort into the bottom right-hand corner from the edge of the box, and later doubled his country’s advantage with a strike into Ciprian Tatarusanu’s bottom-left pocket from the centre of the box.

The 31-year-old was two for three for shots to goals as the side’s returned to the dressing rooms for half-time, but Sigurdsson could not seal his hat-trick with his fourth and final strike of the game in the 46th-minute when the midfielder’s right-footed effort sailed wide to the left of the post.

Sigurdsson remained a key figure of each Iceland attack throughout the second period with manager Hamren utilising the £100,000-per-week playmaker in an advanced forward role, often winning free-kicks and playing dangerous passes.

His efforts led to a Man of the Match-worthy 8.9 rating from SofaScore, who acknowledged Sigurdsson as the only true star of the affair after boasting a 66.6% conversion rate from his three shots on target, along with two successful dribbles and two key passes.

The former Swansea City star further took 60 touches and completed 75% of his 32 passes, while delivering two accurate crosses, playing two accurate long balls and being fouled three times.

Even though Hamren utilised Sigurdsson as a forward option against Romania, the £16.2m-rated playmaker also won six of his 15 attempted duels along with recording two successful dribbles, interceptions and one tackle.

Ancelotti will now be facing a greater selection headache against Liverpool when Everton return to action following the international break, as Sigurdsson provided a strong case for himself in the Toffees’ most-recent fixture, too, whilst stepping in for the injured Andre Gomes.

Ancelotti has rarely favoured Sigurdsson in the Premier League this season with the 4-2 win over Brighton, in which the 31-year-old recorded an assist, coming as his first start following three late second-half substitute outings. He was only really named in the XI thanks to injuries suffered by Allan and Andre Gomes, however.

Sigurdsson, rated at £16.2m by Transfermarkt, also provided two key passes, two crosses and won four of nine ground duels against Graham Potter’s Amex Stadium natives.

AND in other news, Everton are in need of drastic action with a forgotten player after failing to deal with his situation over the summer.

The Aston Villa train just doesn’t look like it’s coming to a halt anytime soon.

Dean Smith’s side have been the undisputed surprise packages of the new Premier League season, flying high with some big victories away against the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal already.

They kept up their recent hot streak with a superb 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, made all the more impressive given the fact Tyrone Mings got himself sent off late on in the first-half.

Such is the hectic nature of the Christmas schedule, Villa find themselves playing again within the space of two days, travelling to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea.

Smith is likely to ring the changes to try and keep things fresh and ensure his players don’t pick up any unnecessary injuries, and with that in mind, below is a look at just how Villa might line up for the clash.

In goal, Emiliano Martinez kept yet another clean sheet, and his performances may even take another step up given the fact Tom Heaton finally returned to the first-team squad following a lengthy injury.

With Mings of course suspended, Smith will no doubt bring Ezri Konsa back into the fold, and he is likely to partner Kortney Hause in the centre of defence, with regulars Matty Cash and Matt Targett either side of them.

In midfield, Douglas Luiz might finally get a rest given the amount of football he has played this season for both club and country, and Marvelous Nakamba is on standby to play.

Further ahead, Jacob Ramsey has seen some first-team action already this season, and could be given the chance to start again in that number ten role, with Jack Grealish on the left and Bertrand Traore on the right – the in-form Anwar El Ghazi may be seen as a weapon to use off the bench against Chelsea to try and keep things fresh for Villa.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Hause, Targett; Nakamba, McGinn; Traore, Ramsey, Grealish, Watkins.

Rangers Football Club have handed a long-term contract extension to one of their brightest young prospects this week, so perhaps it’s time for Steven Gerrard to unleash him on the rest of the Scottish Premiership.

Central defender Lewis Mayo has signed a deal until 2023 having been part of the first-team setup for several months now.

The 20-year-old was part of the squad during pre-season where the Gers kept a clean sheet against Champions League semi-finalists Lyon and has already got some experience in the Championship having featured briefly for Partick Thistle at the back end of last season.

He’ll now link up with the Scotland U21 side ahead of their European qualifiers next week – another telling sign that he’s ready for the next step.

Rangers will face a long and tiresome season, which involves chasing down Celtic before a possible tenth title in a row as well as a potential campaign in the Europa League.

Strength in depth will be needed.

Gerrard will be without Nikola Katic as the Croatian faces over six months out after picking up a cruciate injury during training whilst summer arrival Leon Balogun has also been out of the side through injury in recent weeks.

Therefore, a place amongst the Rs backline could become a reality for Mayo should his manager hand him an opportunity soon.

Rangers skipper James Tavernier lauded the youngster following the Lyon game, he said: “I thought Mayo was absolutely terrific, he looked solid at the back.”

Gerrard is evidently a huge fan too with Mayo continuing to train as part of the first-team squad and his versatility could prove to be a vital factor as the season draws on.

Peter Lovenkrands, his former youth coach at Ibrox, has tipped him for big things, he said: “I’m a big fan of Lewis too. He is a fantastic player who can play at centre half or step up and play the holding role in midfield. He did that for us. He has passing ability with both feet and is so driven. He will do whatever it takes to get to where he wants to go and I really hope he gets his breakthrough.”

Perhaps it’s time for Mayo to be unleashed this season.