Thern is keen on Rangers : SCOTTISH FOOTBALL

SCOTTISH FOOTBALL

Jonas Thern, the captain of Sweden, could be on the move to Rangers. The £2.6m-rated midfielder is unhappy at being out of the Roma team and his agent will travel to Glasgow next week to begin talks.

"I've heard a lot of good things about Rangers and it would suit me fine to finish my career in Scotland," Thern said. "The situation in Rome is untenable. I want to play, but if I'm not going to be selected I might as well change clubs."

The spectre of relegation cost Willie Miller his job as manager of Aberdeen this week - and John Lambie's Partick Thistle can turn the screw today.

If the Premier Division's bottom club beat Motherwell at Firhill, they will leapfrog Aberdeen for at least 24 hours before the Dons face Rangers tomorrow in Roy Aitken's first match in charge.

"Psychologically, at least, it would help us to get above Aberdeen and get off the bottom of the table," Lambie said.

"There is probably more pressure on Aberdeen than anybody else. Look at the squad of players they have and you wouldn't expect them to be where they are."

Aitken, Aberdeen's caretaker manager, who has Eoin Jess, Ray McKinnon and Peter Hetherston available, said: "What happened in the past is exactly that. There will be a lot of hype about Sunday's game but it's about what we do over 12 games that counts. It's all down to pride and self-belief." Aitken had some good news yesterday when the striker Duncan Shearer signed a new two-year contract.

Celtic could have two 17-year-olds, Marc Anthony and Michael Craig, in action against Hibernian at Hampden today.