Hibs and Hearts managers want more as Celtic are warned by former Rangers coach

The latest news from around the Premiership and Hearts and Hibs have contrasting fortunes on Saturday.

It was another weekend of contrasting emotions for Hearts and Hibs as the focus switched back towards Premiership matters following the international break.

There was delight for Hearts as a goal in each half from Yutaro Oda and Liam Boyce gave them a 2-0 home win against Aberdeen that moved Steven Naismith’s side within striking distance of the European places ahead of next weekend’s visit to unbeaten St Mirren.

The result left Naismith delighted with his side’s performance as he reflected on what he believes has been a well-timed international break.

He said: “In one respect we needed the break mentally to reset and take stock, in the European games the performances had been good but the challenge is when you come into domestic games you must win and we never dealt with that well enough. You manage to work on some things on the pitch we felt we had to reset and understand again.”

But there was frustration for new Hibs manager Nick Montgomery as his side wasted a two-goal lead in their trip to Kilmarnock and robbed their new boss of an opportunity to mark his first game with what would have been a crucial win at Rugby Park.

Speaking after the game, the former Scotland Under-21 international said: “It’s obviously frustrating, going 2- 0 up and then not winning. I thought the boys played some really good stuff because this isn’t an easy place to come to so, yes, I’m disappointed.

“I thought we could have killed the game off. We had some really good chances in the first half, their ‘keeper pulled off some good saves and there was some desperate defending from them.”

There were plenty of other talking points from around the Premiership as Rangers look set to face a Real Betis side in the middle of a crisis ahead of Thursday’s Europa League tie and Celtic are handed a warning by a former Ibrox coach.

Keeper issues for La Liga side ahead of Rangers visit

Rangers will get their Europa League group stage campaign underway on Thursday night when La Liga club Real Betis travel to Ibrox.

Michael Beale urges his team on during Rangers' 2-0 win over St Johnstone.

However, the visitors have endured something of a nightmare with their preparations for the trip to Glasgow after they crashed to a 5-0 defeat against Barcelona on Saturday night. To make matters worse for Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini, goalkeeper Rui Silva suffered a suspected torn thigh and is set to miss Thursday’s game. Backup stopper Claudio Bravo is also a major doubt and that means the former Manchester City boss could be forced to hand a first senior start to Fran Vietes, who has been playing for the club’s ‘B’ team in the fourth tier of the Spanish game.

Former Rangers coach warns Celtic ahead of Champions League opener

Celtic have been told they must nulify the threat of Feyenoord star Luka Ivanusec in Tuesday’s Champions League tie in Rotterdam.

The Eredivise club have been in stunning form in recent weeks after scoring 17 goals in their last three games against Almere City, FC Utrecht and Heerenveen. Croatia international Ivanusec only found the net in one of those games but he has been a constant threat for his side and former Rangers coach Roy Makaay believes that could continue when Feyenoord entertain Brendan Rodgers’ side on Tuesday.

First-team coach of Rangers Roy Makaay looks on prior to the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Leg One match between Rangers FC and Crvena Zvezda

He said: "Luka Ivanusec is a very good player. You can see that and he was rightly awarded Man of the Match against Heerenveen. He played in the away win at Utrecht and then this game so he has helped them with 11 goals so far.

"The frightening thing is that he is only just settling in and won't know yet how Feyenoord plays properly and their style. Once he learns that he will get even better. 'He's just a great player. He's very easy to watch on the eye. He also knows where the goal is.

"He plays for Croatia for a reason and they are clearly one of the best teams in Europe. If you are a first pick for them, then it tells you everything about his qualities. Feyenoord are going to have a lot of fun and success with him."