Reports in today’s media have hinted that Nigel Worthington may call up Patrick McCourt to the Northern Ireland side to face Scotland on August 20 at Hampden Park. Like Neil Lennon, McCourt has signed for Celtic and there is a very substantial following within the Northern Irish fan base that is both Pro- Rangers and Anti-Celtic.

We all remember a few years back when Lennon first signed for Celtic that he received death threats as did his family because of this. And that was the major factor in Lennon’s decision to never play for Northern Ireland again as he was warned by the Police that he could not be protected while on the pitch from attacks. From then on Neil Lennon was a hate figure in Northern Ireland amongst mainly the Rangers/Loyalist section of the support, and it soon became apparent that his personality, attitude and his desire to win at all cost was making him a hate figure wherever he played for Celtic in Scotland.

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Mixu Paatelainen’s Hibernian look set to cut short their European adventure after Swedish side IF Elfsborg soundly beat them 2-0 in the First Leg of the Second Round Intertoto Cup tie at Easter Road this afternoon. The Swedish side as expected were much sharper and fitter than their Edinburgh opponents, with Swedish Internationalist Anders Svensson dominating the tie and controlled the game from the midfield for Elfsborg.

Hibs started off well but as the game carried on the lack of fitness was telling, as IF Elfsborg gained the upperhand with their match fitness and training coming into play with the Hibernian players tiring. To make matters worse JHibernian Captain Rob Jones had to be replaced at half time through injury.

It will be an uphill struggle for the Easter Road side to get anything from next week’s Second Leg and unfortunately it doesn’t bode well for them over in Sweden on Saturday. This could damage the morale of the players even before the SPL Season kicks off, can the Hibs players get over this in time for the new Season or will it just be the beginning of worse things to come for the Easter Road side? Only time will tell.

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With EURO 2008 over with and all of Spain celebrate the victory of their nation over Germany in the Final, it is back to business in Scotland. With the new season a little under a month away from kicking off, the clubs are hell bent on improving their squads to better their performances from last season.

Celtic look towards securing a fourth title in a row, while Rangers who lost out in the final day of last season look to try and overcome last year’s heartache to beat Celtic to the title this year.

The Summer Transfer window is always full of rumours and speculation and this year has been no different with Celtic linked with Pavylechenko from Spartak Moscow before he put in a great performance against Holland now he is out of reach of the Parkhead side with £10 million being a rough estimate of how much he would be on the transfer list now. Rangers have been chasing Steve Davis and may be set to lose out as Blackburn under new manager Paul Ince are after him also. While Kilmarnock look to bolster their strike force after selling their three best players in recent years (Boyd, Naismith & Nish) or face another year of struggling at the bottom.

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The Scottish Premier League clubs have welcomed back their players for Pre-season (although Hibs called them back earlier due to their Intertoto Cup tie today) in a bid to get fully fit and enough match practice in for the coming season. We go through each SPL club and look at the matches they have lined up that will give the managers of each team a better idea of how their players perform and link up together before the new SPL season kicks off.

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Hibernian kick off their European Campaign and their season with their clash against Swedish side IF Elfsborg in the First Leg of the Second Round of this year’s Intertoto Cup. Previewing the game we will also look at the likelihood of a Hibernian win and the threat that IF Elfborg poses Mixu Paatelainen’s men.

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Recent events at the end of last season saw a lot of infighting and resignations from within the Rangers Supporters Trust by some key people. Rumours and such were banded about with many folk making up their own minds but now those Board Members who resigned have released a statement through the Rangers Supporters Trust website and it is an interesting read.

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In recent years the talk of the rebirth of the British Home Internationals have watered the mouths of all fans in every country. The last time Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland did battle with one another was back in Season 1983-84 when Northern Ireland won the Championship ahead of the Welsh, sadly Scotland came last. Ultimately as this was the last Home Internationals Championship the Trophy was awarded to the Irish FA permanently. We take a look at the Championship with our Questions and Answers feature.

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The SPL today announced the extension of their long running partnership with Panini UK. Panini are the world’s leading publisher of stickers and trading cards.

Panini UK have been publishing the official SPL sticker collection since the league’s inception back in 1998/99. This deal will see the relationship continue until well into the next decade. The agreement grants Panini UK exclusive rights to publish the official trading cards, sticker collections and other collectables for the coming seasons.

The deal is worth in excess of £1 million for the SPL which will be distributed amongst all twelve member clubs. It takes Panini UK’s investment since the SPL was set up to over £5 million.

Lex Gold, Executive Chairman of the SPL said: “Panini’s SPL collections have been hugely popular. Building interest in the game with the next generation of Scottish football fans is vital for our clubs and we’re delighted to be working with Panini as part of that.”

Mike Riddell, Managing Director of Panini UK commented: “We are proud to be one of the longest standing partners of the SPL. This deal means a further increase in our investment in the SPL and it demonstrates our total commitment to football in Scotland. We look forward to taking our partnership from strength to strength.”