HYNDMAN PRAISES ‘BRILLIANT’ MURTY

The Under-20s boss was thrust into the top Ibrox job following the sudden departure of Mark Warburton last month.

Murty kicked off with a 2-1 win over Morton in the Scottish Cup, but had back-to-back losses against Dundee and Inverness Caley Thistle before the team’s dramatic last-gasp 3-2 win over St Johnstone in midweek.

Hyndman netted the stoppage-time effort to dump the Perth outfit and the on-loan Bournemouth star dedicated his strike to the stand-in boss.

He said: “He’s been brilliant. It’s always a tough position as a kind of interim manager, especially with the way things have gone.

“But I credit him for coming in and establishing what he wants us to do. I think the boys got behind him quite well.

“The results didn’t really show what he was doing and how good he was, but it was nice to give him that positive feeling on Wednesday night.”

Victory over Tommy Wright’s Saints saw Rangers cut Aberdeen’s lead to six points in the race for second and Hyndman insists there is still plenty for the Light Blues to play for this term.

He added: “Of course, there is. We saw the Aberdeen result the other night, but we’re just focused on ourselves at the same time.

“We need to get ourselves right and I think we took our first step against Saints. It was about the three points, it wasn’t about how we got it.

“After recent results we’ve had it was very important we got three points on the board and, thankfully, we did that.

SPFL BETTING TIPS

Although it’s still technically possible that Celtic may not win the Premiership, all of us agree that the Hoops are on course to win their sixth-straight title in emphatic style. This is true to such an extent that it’s more a case of when – rather than if – Celtic will lift the trophy. With this in mind, what else is there to bet on? Plenty! Let’s take a closer look…

UPCOMING FIXTURES

The only league fixture on March 4th is Kilmarnock vs Motherwell. While neither team is anywhere the top of the table, both teams have a lot to lose. Motherwell currently sit second from bottom and only two points from safety. Meanwhile, Kilmarnock are in a safer position in seventh, yet a few slip ups could put them in danger.

Kilmarnock are proving difficult to beat of late. Killie have won three, lost three and drawn two, of their last eight home matches in the SPL. It’s also worth noting that two of those defeats came against Celtic and Aberdeen – by far two of the best teams in the league.

By contrast, relegation rivals, Motherwell, are not faring so well. They suffered a humiliating 5-1 home loss at the hands of Dundee on February 25. In fact, the Steelmen have lost six of their last seven matches. It’s no wonder that Kilmarnock are favourites in this match.

Yet at odds of 24/19 to win, Killie aren’t guaranteed the three points. Motherwell are 4/1 to go down, so the bookies still believe they have some fighting spirit left in them. At 44/19 for the Motherwell outright, it’s worth taking a look at the Bonus Code site if you’re thinking about taking an outside punt.

As we’ve already said, it will take a miracle to knock Celtic off their perch this season, or for the foreseeable future. For this reason, many bookies are focusing on the fight for second place.

Newly-promoted Rangers are third with 46 points, 6 points behind Aberdeen in second place. There’s not much between the two; both teams have lost seven matches this term. In terms of recent form, both teams have won just one and lost two of their last three matches. Yet Aberdeen have the edge in the league with fewer draws and more wins.

Rangers’ next match is at Celtic. We don’t think they have much chance at overcoming their bitter rivals, especially considering Rob Kiernan’s absence in light of a two-match ban. On the other hand, Aberdeen are playing at home to lowly Motherwell. Most bookies have Aberdeen as favourites at 1/4 to clinch second place, and we’re inclined to agree.