Former Hibs and Rangers star's shock sacking reasons revealed as ex-Hearts star gutted by knee injury

Ian Murray was sacked by Raith Rovers one day after the first league game of the new season (Pic: Alan Murray)

Hearts kickstarted their Scottish Premiership season off with a draw against Rangers at Tynecastle on Saturday, while Hibs suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of St Mirren on the road.

The clubs in Scotland’s top flight will play twice more before Deadline Day arrives, so they still have a good chunk of time to finalise some summer deals. However, that time will quickly tick down, so they must act fast. Here’s a roundup of some of the latest news in Scottish football as we approach midweek.

Murray dismissal reasons revealed

Earlier this week, Raith Rovers announced the decision to part ways with manager Ian Murray. The 43-year-old, who represented both Hibs and Rangers during his playing days, was appointed in 2022. His contract has been terminated despite the Rovers finishing second in the Scottish Championship last season.

“I can see why it came as a shock to fans and the wider football community given last season's exploits. This isn't a knee-jerk reaction based on one performance, five performances or eight including the pre-season games,” Raith Rovers CEO Andrew Barrowman explained in an interview with the club.

“It was formed over a number of months. We live and breathe this club. We see things, we hear things, we feel things that inform these opinions. Despite what people think, there was no flashpoint and no falling out. I spoke to Ian a couple of times on Sunday and he was shocked. I don't think he agreed with my points, but I think he understood the rationale, which is a mark of the individual.

"People talk about why we didn't do it at the end of the season. Rightly or wrongly, we believed Ian deserved the opportunity for us to be better. Hindsight's a wonderful thing and could we have acted differently? Possibly. "Ultimately, we don't believe Ian was the man to take us forward and that's why we came to the decision. I don't think Ian comes out of the situation badly at all. He did a good job, even previous to our time at the club. I don't think his CV has been damaged and I'm sure he'll go on to become successful in his next job. "I want to express our gratitude to Ian and the job he did. We all experienced some pretty special moments last year and he led us to that."

Nicholson out for ‘several months’

Motherwell have confirmed that Sam Nicholson has suffered a knee-related injury and will be on the sidelines for ‘several months’. The former Hearts star also picked up an injury during preseason, so this has come as an additional blow to the club which could force them back to the transfer market.

Motherwell star Sam Nicholson | SNS Group

“This is a really frustrating situation for both club and player,” Stuart Kettlewell said. “I’ve spoken with Sam and will ensure he is full supported during this lay off. He is gutted that he is having to miss more games after working so hard to get back fit.

“From a club point of view, it’s another blow. Our injury list isn’t getting shorter and we’ve now got one less option in the forward areas. We’ll look to see if we can bring in some fresh blood to try and cope with the situation.”

Nicholson said: “I’m gutted I can’t help the team. That’s the worst part about this news. I was feeling so good going into this season and was loving my football. Thank you to everyone for the support.”