Billy Dodds

Football columnist

Latest articles from Billy Dodds

Billy Dodds: Aberdeen can push Celtic all the way

I HAVE always said that if any team can narrow the gap to Celtic to between 10 and 20 points then they are doing well. So the fact there is now next to nothing between first and second in the Premiership table shows how strongly Aberdeen have performed over this campaign. On the other hand, it also highlights the fact that, by their high standards, Celtic are not doing as well as they ought to be.

Billy Dodds: I know how Martin Canning will be feeling after heavy Celtic defeat

I KNOW how Martin Canning must have felt the other night when Celtic were scoring goal after goal against his Hamilton team and didn’t look like stopping. About a month after Jim McIntyre and I were appointed at Ross County we welcomed Ronny Deila and his side to our place and by half-time we were 4-0 down. And it was four going on eight.

Billy Dodds: Sensible Rangers taking it one stage at a time

RANGERS’ new signings may not be the big names the fans might have hoped for but I think the road they are continuing to go down is the right on for them at this point. As they try to get back on an even financial footing, it’s one stage at a time. They’ll no doubt have long-term goals about where they want to see the club eventually, but it has to be a gradual and controlled thing and that goes for the players they bring in as well.

Billy Dodds: Our game needs overhauled before we become the forgotten men of Europe

CELTIC’s European campaign will come to an end away to Fenerbahce early next month and their fans might now be wondering whether that will also be Ronny Deila’s last tie as manager. There is a long way to go until the Champions League qualifiers come round again next summer but, with the team bottom of their Europa League group without a win after five games, then there will be plenty of people interested to see whether the Celtic board decide to give Ronny another chance to take them into the group stage.

Billy Dodds: It doesn't matter if Ronny Deila was right or wrong - Kris Commons can't react like that

IT doesn’t matter if people think Ronny Deila was right or wrong to take Kris Commons off in Molde the other night – you just can’t have that reaction as a player. It’s about having respect for your manager. A player, of course, is entitled to be unhappy about being replaced but you need to keep it behind closed doors. If you’re not happy with a manager’s decision then you’re within your rights to tell him but the correct way to do it is in his office or somewhere else private. You can’t do what Commons did by causing a scene in front of everybody. It’s just not the done thing.

Billy Dodds: I hope Gordon Strachan stays but not sure that he will

I HOPE Gordon Strachan stays on for the World Cup qualifying campaign but I’m not convinced that he will. The disappointment of Scotland not reaching the Euros will stay will him – and the rest of us – for a while yet. And I just wonder whether Gordon will have the appetite for another campaign where the chances of qualifying for Russia 2018 will be even slimmer than this one.

Billy Dodds: St Johnstone defeat shows Rangers not ready for step up yet

IT was interesting to hear Mark Warburton say after Rangers’ defeat to St Johnstone that he still didn’t think there was much of a gulf between the Championship and the Premiership. I think you only say that if you’ve not played in the top division for a wee while. When you step up, you probably think you’ve got enough to cope, but the reality is often different.