From Fir Park to France: Askou makes huge Toulouse Switch

Motherwell head coach, Jens Berthel Askou has departed Motherwell to join French outfit, Toulouse. Motherwell this evening confirmed the departure of Askou to Ligue 1 side, Toulouse after an excellent campaign in the Scottish Premiership despite rumoured interest by Celtic. Jens brought some of the best football in the league to Fir Park in which was his first season in Scotland in which the Danish boss took the Steelmen to a fourth place finish with Conference League football awaiting next season. Motherwell managed to defeat Celtic for the first time in a decade as well as winning away at Ibrox as well as Calum Ward racking up an exceptional 17 clean sheets and finishing top of the golden glove as well as Maswanhise who also had a brilliant season, netting 22 times all season which has gone unnoticed by clubs across Europe. After grabbing their highest league season ending in 13 years, the Dane makes a move over to France after a formal approach a few days ago and agreeing the compensation fee which saw both parties agree personal terms ahead of the deal. “Grateful is the best word to describe how I feel about my time as a manager of Motherwell FC,” Jens Berthel Askou said. “This past year has been an amazing journey. The buy-in and support from players, staff, board members, volunteers and supporters have been invaluable for me to lead the development of the club. There have been so many special moments along the way, but the way the season ended with a hard-fought win at Easter Road, leaving the club in a position of chasing European football next season, couldn’t have been written better. “Special opportunities come rare in football. And you don’t know when they present themselves. So sometimes you have to leave great things behind to create new ones no matter how hard it is. “This year has not just been a year of joy, excitement, togetherness and success. It has also been a glimpse into the future. A glimpse of what this club is capable of when executing ambitions strategically and boldly. “Now I will follow this future from outside. Excited and optimistic on behalf of everyone at Motherwell Football Club. Knowing that I played a small part. And with memories of something truly special. “A huge THANK YOU to everyone who I’ve met along the way. Mon the Well.” As it stands, all staff within the club will remain. “First of all, I want to wish Jens all the very best for the future,” Chairman Kyrk Macmillan said. “When we brought Jens to Motherwell, there was an understanding that if there was success, the club wouldn’t stand in the way of Jens progressing to his next club if it was the correct opportunity at the right time. “Toulouse is a club playing in one of the top-five divisions in Europe, and it is an excellent opportunity for him. I hope this move brings him more success. Thank you, Jens. “This season has been a special one. I’m a Motherwell fan, and it has been a joy to watch the team operate at such a high level. It’s no secret that we have got a strategy in place that we will continue to build upon our model, using the same principles, as we enter this new campaign. Managers leaving a club can be a hard pill to swallow, and whilst we appreciate Jens for what he has done here in the last 11 months, we have been continually working on contingencies and learnings to ensure we do not rip up and start again but continue to build and grow. “There’s lots to be excited about. We have over 20 contracted first-team players, European football on the horizon and crowds are 40% up at Fir Park. We will continue working hard behind the scenes and will update supporters in due course. This is the start of a journey, not the end.”  

Arsenal Premier League Champions!

Arsenal secured a long awaited Premier League title as Manchester City failed to defeat AFC Bournemouth. All Arsenal needed tonight was for Man City to drop points at the hands of Bournemouth which went their way on the night as Kroupi netted on 39 minutes with a 95th minute Haaland equaliser not enough to see City continue the title challenge and former City assistant, Arteta securing the league title. Arsenal have seen years and years of failing to get their hands on the title but that all came to an end tonight after an excellent campaign by Arteta’s side. The Gunners started off their season with a 1-0 win away at Old Trafford, courtesy of an early Calafiori goal gave Arsenal the exact start they wanted. From then, it kept going exactly how they wanted with 82 points on the board and just 5 defeats this season, it’s been a brilliant season for the North London side. Arsenal made it title number 14 after ending their long 22-year wait of no top division titles which is their first title since their magical Invincibles title back in the 2003/04 season which also ends a six-year gap without any silverware. The Gunners travel to London rivals, Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon where they will be presented their well and deserved title at Selhurst Park but that’s not their season over as they have the chance to also lift the UEFA Champions League trophy as they meet PSG 10-days time in Budapest.  

EFL duo keeping tabs on Falkirk defender Liam Henderson

Both Plymouth and Oxford United are keen on bringing Liam Henderson down south after impressing in the Premiership. After an impressive end to the Scottish Premiership, scouts from both sides upped their interest in the 29-year-old. Henderson has had a successful season with Falkirk with in terms of the stats, the defender won 73.4% of his arial duels, 319 defensive contributions as well as 8 clean sheets for the Bairns this campaign. Henderson re-joined Falkirk in League One of Scottish Football joining from Arbroath in which the Scottish defender helped Falkirk return to the Scottish Championship. After yet another successful season, he helped the Bairns reach the top-flight on the first time of asking to return to the Premiership for the first time in 15 years. This season has been a standout season for Henderson, helping Falkirk reach the top six on the first time of asking, competing closely for a European spot. Oxford who have recently been relegated from the Championship are showing some strong interest. Oxford have been leaking goals left, right and centre with 59 goals conceded in the Championship with a few of their current defenders eyeing up a return to the Championship with Michal Helik wanting to return up a league with Henderson coming in as the replacement. Plymouth conceded 63 goals in League One after a horrid start to the campaign, they started to find form and narrowly missed out in promotion to the Championship. Plymouth are in dire need of some big men in order to defend set-pieces as that’s been an area of concern – conceding 13 throughout the season. Henderson would join fellow Scot, Jack McKenzie if he was to join Argyle but a move to Oxford would be beneficial due to the low numbers in that area for The Yellows.

Pep set to leave Manchester City after successful spell in England

Pep Guardiola is set to depart Manchester City at the end of the week after a 10-year spell in England. Pep joined City back in 2016, after former boss, Manuel Pellegrini departed the Etihad. Pep has been on of the best managers in the history of Manchester City having a 72% win rate in the Premier League after joining from Bayern Munich in 2016. The Spanish coach has managed 591 games for City, winning 423 games with 76 draws and 92 defeats during his time. Since joining, he has won many trophies, winning six Premier Leagues, 3 FA Cups, 5 League Cups, 3 Community Shields as well as their first ever, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA World Cup with the Champions League victory coming back in 2023 in a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Instanbul. Pep won his 20th City trophy last weekend as Semenyo netted the winning goal in a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final. He turned Man City into England’s most dominant side for majority of his time in Manchester as well as breaking many records also. Pep led Man City to the 100-point mark in 2018 before a treble the following season. The records continued to come in as Pep secured four back-to-back trophies which included four League Cups and two FA Cups as well as another treble back in 2023 as well as winning his sides first ever European Trophy in 2023. There has been rumours of where Pep may end up next with a possible International job on the cards as rumours suggested Italy could be on the line. A massive loss to Man City as they will now look deep in for a replacement manager with Enzo Maresca coming out to be the frontrunner to take over at the Etihad who departed Chelsea at the start of 2026. Maresca knows Man City well after being the assistant to Pep when the Spanish coach secured the historic treble as well as their first Champions League trophy before leaving to manage Leicester in which he moved onto Chelsea but of course, departed Stamford Bridge on New Year’s Day.

Aberdeen captain offered new deal with Inverness interested in their former man

Aberdeen captain, Graeme Shinnie has been offered a 2-year-deal to remain at Aberdeen but Inverness are tracking. Graeme Shinnie who’s born and bred in Aberdeen started up his career in the Highlands with Inverness Caledonian Thistle back in 2009 racking up a Scottish Cup win over Falkirk. The Aberdeen born then went into fulfil his dream of playing for his boyhood side, joining in 2015. Shinnie went on to spend a total of four years before making a switch down south to Derby County. The midfielder was a regular starter for Derby making just shy of 100 appearances with the English outfit. Shinnie then moved onto Wigan making 31 appearances for the side before he made a return to Aberdeen in 2022. Shinnie returned to being a regular starter at Pittodrie with his dream to end his career with leading the Dons to a Scottish Cup victory. After 3 years, his dream came true after a penalty-shootout win at Hampden over Celtic in the Scottish Cup Final gave Shinnie all he wanted and guided his boyhood side to their first Scottish Cup in 35-years. Shinnie has been in-and-out of the side of late, but Robinson has been full of praise of the 34-year-old saying: “arguably the best captain I have ever worked with” and a vital “culture setter”. Aberdeen have offered Shinnie a two-year-deal, but an agreement is still far away with newly promoted Scottish Championship side, Inverness looking to take Shinnie back to the Highlands once again.

Marvin Bartley departs already relegated Livingston.

Marvin Bartley has departed Livingston as he feels he had ‘no option’ following relegation to the Championship. Bartley took the manager role at the start of the year after moving from the assistant to manager as former boss, David Martindale stepped down to take up a role as sporting director. Livingston announced their relegation from the Scottish Premiership as results on Saturday didn’t go their way with Kilmarnock cruising to a 3-0 win over Dundee United which now see’s Scott Arfield take charge for the final three fixtures for Livingston. Bartley after speaking on X: “Ultimately, this decision comes following a conversation on Monday where the position that had previously been outlined to us changed considerably. “Following the Motherwell game on 31 January, I was asked to take on the role and initially declined given the circumstances at the time. “After further conversations, I agreed to do so based on assurances around stability and the opportunity to lead the club into next season should relegation happen. “For that reason, it came as a major surprise to later be informed that Neil and I would need to reapply for our positions as part of a new process being introduced by the club. “We don’t feel that the situation we agreed to take on, and the one now being presented, are the same. As a result, we feel stepping away is the right direction for us both.” Martindale who was in charge for the first-half of the campaign in which joined the club back in 2014 and took the manager role six-years-ago, guided Livingston to the top-flight after defeating Partick Thistle in the play-offs back in 2018. Livi spent six- years in the top division before returning to the Championship where they’d find themselves return on the first time of asking, defeating Ross County in the play-offs to return to the Premiership. This campaign hasn’t went as planned with so far, just two wins all season which saw a win over Falkirk on matchday two with most recently, a 2-0 away win against St Mirren. Bartley has been in charge for 11 games which of course picked up the second win of the season for the Lothian side, defeating St Mirren 2-0 in Paisley with his last game in charge being their Friday night showdown, drawing 2-2 with Aberdeen and despite the point, they were still relegated with relegation rivals, Kilmarnock picking up three points. Bartley looks onwards in his career after a slight improvement in performances. “We took over a group that was in an extremely difficult position with a short period of time to try and turn things around,” he added. “While results ultimately haven’t been enough to keep the club in the division, we believe there were clear improvements in performances, competitiveness and spirit across the 11 games.”

Stephen Robinson explores the option of keeping Olusanya permanently

Aberdeen boss, Stephen Robinson is keen to keep striker Olusanya at Pittodrie following his loan spell. Robinson is keen to keep Olusanya at Pittodrie who originally joined Aberdeen on loan from MLS outfit, Houston Dynamo who is out-of-contract with the American side this summer. Robinson coached Olusanya back during their St Mirren days where the ex-St Mirren coach is a big admirer of the forward. Olusanya joined the Dons on loan in January from the MLS in which he previously had a loan spell with Doncaster Rovers at the beginning of this season failing to make an impact down south. The Englishman has featured 15 times in red failing to pick up a single goal with just one assist to his name – despite the stats, Robinson is clearly hopeful of keeping Olusanya in the North-East. Olusanya was a key player during their St Mirren days netting 12 times in 38 during 2024/25 for the Buddies as Robinson see’s the striker as a key player. Robinson states he is very keen in keeping him next season as he is hoping to sign consistent performers over ‘big’ names. Robinson on keeping Olusanya at Aberdeen: Robinson confirmed: “Certainly we will. I believe the American club has got an option to extend it, but it’s something that we’ll be looking at and actively discussing.” “You know, there’s lots of names being bandied about, and we just need to, first and foremost, get safe. I’ve let other people look at that in the background and advise me. “I was going to say once a week, but it’s probably every couple of hours, advising me where we are.” “I was going to say once a week, but it’s probably every couple of hours, advising me where we are.” Robinson is happy by Olusanya’s overall play but says the only missing part is a goal which he believes he will get eventually. The former St Mirren boss said: The Dons boss claimed: “He’s doing everything but scoring a goal at the moment, and if you ask any defender in the league, they hate playing against him. “He’s a huge threat. He’s involved in so many things good that we do, and I’ve worked with him, obviously, previously, and he’s a super boy. “He is infectious around the place. When you come into a changing room, that’s not won games. “One win in 16 when I took over and there are people feeling sorry for themselves. You get the little groups gathered together. “But Toyi is a different breed. He’s just happy all the time. He trains every day wood, and his teammates really, really like him, so he brings a positivity. “On the pitch, he’s one of the quickest players I’ve ever worked with. If we can just add the goals to his game, then he’s a real, real threat, which he’s shown in the other parts of his game.” Stephen Robinson also thinks that Olusanya doesn’t suit the MLS and believes the Scottish Premiership is the right place for him to play his best football. He added: “Yes, I think when I first came in, he wasn’t. He’d been in America for a year and hadn’t played a lot of football. It was a different style of football. “It was 40-odd degrees in Texas, and probably didn’t suit Toi’s game, if the truth be told. Toi’s a runner. He gets down the side of people and hurts people. “We’ve taken a little while to get him up to that fitness level, but like we’d done with Afeez, we stuck with him to get the game time in. I’m starting to see real good traits in him and Kevin forming a really good partnership.” Robinson is also keen on bringing Liam Morrison back from QPR for next season following his loan spell in Scotland. Striker pairing, Kusini Yengi and Peter Ambrose are both set to return from disappointing loan spells. Graeme Shinnie could be on his way out with no sign of any contact extension yet with a return to Inverness being possible following their promotion to the Championship.

McGlynn “Delighted” as Falkirk Stay in European Hunt

John McGlynn believes his side’s ability to “stifle” Motherwell was critical to their victory over the Steelmen, as The Bairns look to leapfrog Hibs next weekend in the race for Europe. Speaking at full-time of their 1-0 win, McGlynn praised his team’s workrate, as they picked up a vital three points. “The boys gave everything, had to work their socks off. “Everyone knows how good a team Motherwell are but we’ve managed to stifle them a little bit nearly every time we’ve played them bar the first half of the first game. “The first half, the intensity, the pace of the game was ridiculous. We had to defend well, Nicky had one really good save on the first half and I think on another day Barney gets himself a hattrick, maybe it’s just a little dip in confidence. “We managed to defend well as a team, we defended the box and we were a threat throughout the game. I’m delighted for the players, they put so much work into that.” In the other dugout, Jens Berthel Askou believed a lack of clear-cut opportunities proved one of the decisive factors in Motherwell’s defeat. “Disappointed about the outcome, disappointed about some of the moments in the performance. “I think it was an extremely open game in the first half, maybe more open than either team would have wanted. “It gave us all the moments and opportunities for our attacking players to create big chances and score goals we could have wished for but it also gave them too much. Neither team was able to produce enough quality until they finally scored then I think we took control for most of the game in the second. “We had our moments and opportunities but not enough big ones. The intent to really try and take control of the game, especially in the second half, was there. We did our best but our best just wasn’t good enough today.” Motherwell sit comfortably in fourth, but would perhaps rather not give their European rivals any further encouragement, as the Scottish Premiership reaches its climax in the coming weeks.

Dundee 1-0 St Mirren – Dundee edge past St Mirren to steer away from relegation

A first-half Westly strike earned Dundee a huge three points as they look to steady the ship and avoid the drop and remain in the top-flight. Dhanda had the first real big chance after ten minutes as he fired a tame effort from the edge of the box which was easily gathered by Ross Sinclair in goals. Dundee shortly fired ahead after a slack pass at the back allowed Dundee to attack with Congreve twisting-and-turning on the right flank, he then whipped a ball into the box where Joe Westley struck it home to steer Pressley’s men away from the relegation fight. The hosts nearly had a second as Dhanda struck the ball goal bound but was deflected onto the bar by a St Mirren body to deny Dundee a second. Congreve again whipped a low ball in, it found Westley once again but his effort went just wide of the target. St Mirren were denied a penalty just before the break after a pretty dreadful half by the Buddies’ but after a lengthy VAR check, the penalty was denied. Into the second half, Richardson took on a shot from distance which ended up being palmed away by the Dundee number one to deny an equaliser for the Paisley outfit. St Mirren had another big chance which saw Campbell deliver a ball into the box and Mandron met with it but his strike fired just wide. Not much drama in the second period going into the 70 minute mark as St Mirren struggle to pull one back despite a slightly better half than their first half showing. St Mirren again came close as Idowu made a darting run towards goal and took on a strike from a very tight angle which rattled the side netting as St Mirren keep pushing for an equaliser. Congreve had a chance to see off the game with a right-footed strike inside the box but too many touches allowed St Mirren bodies to come back and block his effort. Dundee had a massive late chance with a ball across goal mouth but the Dundee forward unable to tap the ball into the net to go two clear. Dundee see out a vital win at Dens as they continue their relegation fight as their Premiership status for next season looks very likely and for the visitors, well they drop into 11th as they go into the fight with Kilmarnock – which they will meet next Saturday in Paisley. Dundee: McCracken (6), Astley (7), Wright (7), Murray (6), Halliday (7), Yogane (8), Westley (8), Congreve (7), Dhanda (9), Hamilton (7), Graham (7). Substitutes: O’Hara (7), Robertson (7), Hay (6), Samuels (6), Koumetio (6). St Mirren: Sinclair (6), Richardson (6), Tanser (5), King (6), O’Hara (6), Idowu (6), Devaney (6), Mandron (5), Campbell (6), Freckleton (6), Phillips (5). Substitutes: McMenemin (6), Fraser (6), Young (6).

Valakari says his side “played like champions” after 2-0 win on Friday evening

Simo Valakari was delighted on how his side reacted after clinching the title on Tuesday evening. St Johnstone who won the league on Tuesday night in Dunfermline went on to defeat Raith Rovers 2-0 on title celebrations night as many thought some players could may still be “hungover”. St Johnstone have been at it the entire season and rightly so, finished in style in their final home match of the season at McDiarmid which was a time to celebrate with family, friends and the supporters as they return to the top flight on the first time of asking. A brace by Jamie Gullan who has been on fine form this season got the night up and running with two first-half goals to send Perth in party mode. Valakri was delighted his side were able to continue their fine form as he added: “after clinching the title on Tuesday night, to come here and still showing the energy, desire and commitment” as his side continued as where they left off on Tuesday night as the Tuesday nights celebrations didn’t impact how they played on Friday night as Simo left very happy with how his side went about it. It was always going to be a big night in Perth as the St Johnstone squad were in full party mode after a massive night under the lights in which they did it in style. The season isn’t quite over yet for Simo Valakai’s men as the travel to Ayr United next Friday night for the final game of the Scottish Championship season as the Perth outfit will be looking to end on a high as they prepare for Premiership football next season.