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Daily Record
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Sport
Monday Jury

Are Rangers any closer to closing Celtic gap and will Dundee United go down under Jim Goodwin? Monday Jury

What did we learn from the last Old Firm derby of the season?

David McCarthy: From Celtic's point of view, that the likes of Kobayashi, Bernabei and Oh aren't ready to challenge Postecoglou's first choice players in their position. As for Rangers, Ryan Jack showed that he has to be kept on and that there will be life after Morelos and Kent.

Craig Swan: It's dangerous to read too much into a dead rubber. But players such as Todd Cantwell, Nicolas Raskin and Ridvan Yilmaz showed up well for Rangers as they look forward.

Andy Newport: That Rangers fringemen Robby McCrorie and Ridvan Yilmaz have probably waited far too long for a run of games and that Celtic's second string stars Yuki Kobayashi and Alexandro Bernabei shouldn't be expecting one of their own any time soon.

Fraser Wilson: Michael Beale won’t be reading too much into the victory against a weakened Celtic side other than to know Morelos and Kent are now yesterday’s men. But Ange Postecoglou may have had his eyes opened by a few of his fringe players who failed to impress with Kobayashi in particular looking weak.

Has Robby McCrorie done enough to suggest he can be number one for Rangers next season?

David: He has not put a foot wrong against Aberdeen and Celtic and made a McGregor-like save to deny O'Riley, so he;s given himself a chance, although I suspect Beale will still go for a more experienced figure.

Craig: Michael Beale clearly has another keeper coming in the door and his standards will determine McCrorie's chances. But he did himself no harm. Again.

Andy: He's certainly proven he's a more reliable back-up than Jon McLaughlin. Jack Butland looks like he's on his way but if McCrorie has to be called upon, he won't let his manager down.

Fraser: Yes. McCrorie’s time is long overdue. Four clean sheets from four top team games including two Old Firms is impressive and so is the way he commands his box. He’s shown he can handle the pressure and make big saves.

Dundee United have hit a bad spell at exactly the wrong time - are they going down?


David: They are now favourites for the drop but if they beat Killie at Tannadice, they're still swinging. This will go down to the last kick of the ball and I wouldn't rule them out.

Craig: Looks like they are falling into big trouble with the dreadful goals which were conceded at the weekend to Ross County.

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin (SNS Group)

Andy: I wouldn't write them off yet. They face a Livi side that's lost five out of the last six and then host a Killie team that's managed only one away win all season. There's scope for United to survive.

Fraser: Looking at their remaining fixtures then it’s not too promising for Jim Goodwin’s side. They’ll need to tighten up their defending and take something from this week’s trip to Livingston or the gap could suddenly be too big to overcome.

Kevin van Veen struck again to break a Motherwell scoring record - how much is the Dutchman worth?

David: He's in the form of his life but at 31, he's not going to be a long term investment for anyone who comes in for him. But as he's under contract, Motherwell would be mad to part with him for anything less than £2m.

Craig: Whatever someone is willing to pay and where the buying club is from. It's that simple. Motherwell should be looking for seven figures, but are unlikely to get it.

Andy: Right now he's priceless to Motherwell but they are a club that relies on player trading to survive and if a big offer comes in, he'll be off. His age - 32 next month - might cap the level of cash up for grabs but they should start the bidding at seven figures and see how it goes.

Fraser: Stuart Kettlewell’s claim that nobody in Scotland can afford the big striker was maybe a bit misleading given the Old Firm’s wealth but they could certainly hold out for seven figures. With a year left on his contract it would be interesting to see if they would nibble on a bid of £750,000 though.

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