Rangers told transfer priority as Ibrox man departs to Arsenal

Latest news from Hibs and Hearts Scottish Premiership rivals

Hibs and Hearts will be back in action shortly with the Hibees hopeful of narrowing the gap to St Mirren in third place while Hearts will be keen to bounce back up after dropping down into sixth position. Their November form quickly took a tumble as they faced Rangers at Tynecastle with Abdallah Sima ending Steven Naismith's four win run. Aberdeen then swooped in and took away a further three points to send the Jambos down the league.

Hibs, however, have enjoyed a surge in momentum with Nick Montgomery sending the side up to fourth in league following four wins in their recent five matches. This weekend will see the Easter Road outfit take on St Johnstone while Hearts face Celtic at Parkhead.

Ahead of this weekend's action, here is the latest news from Hibs and Hearts' Premiership rivals...

Rangers told transfer priority

Rangers legend Ally McCoist says getting goalkeeper Jack Butland on a longer contract should take priority over new signings in January (TNT via Daily Record). The Englishman made several key saves throughout Rangers' win over Real Betis in the Europa League and thanks to his efforts, the Gers are now into the last 16 of the competition.

Speaking on TNT Sport after the win, the Ibrox icon said: "Another thing worth mentioning is will Clement be supported in the transfer window? Absolutely, yes, but the moment the first thing I'm doing is getting the goalkeeper on a longer contract.

"That's the first thing I would do. I would extend that, the goalkeeper has been absolutely outstanding. He will bring one or two new faces into the club and deserves to do that but you want to keep that goalkeeper."

Levein reveals transfer block

St Johnstone manager Craig Levein has ruled out a January McDiarmid Park return for club legend David Wotherspoon (The Courier).

The ex-Hibee moved from the Saints to Inverness Caledonian Thistles this summer and made his debut on October 28 scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory against Airdrieonians. He made nearly 300 league appearances for St Johnstone but the new boss in Perth has ruled out bringing the club legend back to McDiarmid Park.

Wotherspoon's current contract with ICT ends in January and their boss Duncan Ferguson has confirmed the club "worked a bit of magic" in an attempt to make a strong offer to the midfielder to keep him on.

Ibrox man departs to Arsenal

Rangers senior recruitment man is set to join Arsenal in January after working his notice at Ibrox (Football Insider). Phil Cowen decided to leave Glasgow after two years at Ibrox and will head up the Gunners academy scouting department.

The Ibrox academy has produced many top talents in recent years, many of whom have gone on to earn senior appearances for the club including Leon King and Hearts star man Alex Lowry. Cowen also brought the highly rated 17-year-old goalkeeper Mason Munn to Rangers and Football Insider also reported he is being tracked by a number of Premier Leauge clubs, including Cowen's new home.