Goals from Jonny Hayes and debutant Simon Church earn Aberdeen crucial win, Rangers defender Rob Kiernan revels in clean sheet record and Glasgow Warriors launch another ‘project’

Today

• Deadline day signing Church marks Dons debut with winner against Celtic
• TV pundit Andy Walker calls for Deila to be sacked immediately after top-of-the-table defeat
• Celtic scorer Griffiths says players should take blame but admits ‘meltdown’ awaits if they have any trouble with East Kilbride in the Scottish Cup
• Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct drop confidentiality breach claim against Rangers chairman Dave King
• Dominic Ball targets league and cup success to help bid for a first team spot at Spurs next season as fellow Rangers defender Rob Kiernan registers satisfaction at recent run of clean sheets
• East Kilbride PE teacher aiming to teach struggling champions a thing or two
• Lionel Ainsworth’s tears of frustration after taking blame for Motherwell’s loss of decisive goal against Thistle
• One year at a time keeps Stevie Lawless happy at Jags
• Wheelchair singles champ Gordon Reid reflects on Aussie Open experience and what comes next
• Richie Gray is latest to outline how Rugby World Cup boosted Scottish confidence
• Kiwi Maitland claims he was brought up to ‘hate’ England by Scottish grandad
• New Warriors recruit Jarrod Firth set to bid to be part of Scotland set-up
• Kellock launches Glasgow Warriors’ annual awards dinner
• Watson appointed Walker Cup captain
• Rio Olympics prospects offered reassurances regarding risk of contracting Zika virus

Church man builds belief

Aberdeen's new signing Simon Church celebrates his winning goal in the Premiership top-of-the-table clash with Celtic

Keeping the faith

Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths insists the blame lies with players rather than the manager

Challenge to King withdrawn

Sports Direct have dropped their court case against Rangers chairman Dave King

On the Ball

Rangers on-loan defender Dominic Ball reckons winning silverware will boost his chances of regular first team football when he returns south

Aiming to net the biggest fish

East Kilbride goal-keeper Matt McGinley looks ahead to the Lowland League club's biggest ever day when they meet Celtic in the Scottish Cup

Tears are not enough

Lionel Ainsworth has admitted to tears of frustration after taking the blame for Motherwell's Premiership defeat at the hands of Partick Thistle

Picture of contentment

Stevie Lawless is living on a year to year basis at Partick Thistle and it suits him fine

Day in the sun

Gordon Reid is revelling in the new attention that becoming a Grand Slam champion has brought after winning the wheelchair singles at the Australian Open

Still growing

Richie Gray, Scotland's 6'9" lock, reckons confidence in the squad is building ahead of this season's Six Nations

Feeling the hate

Kiwi import Sean Maitland has explained how his Scottish grandfather encouraged his dislike of the English

Firth of Clyde

Glasgow Warriors' latest Kiwi signing Jarrod Firth looks set to be yet another 'project' player for the national side 

Big Al launches awards

Al Kellock, Glasgow Warriors' long-time former captain, turned club ambassador launches this season's awards dinner

Captain's call

Scottish amateur golfer Craig Watson has been appointed captain of the 2018 Walker Cup team

06.05 Radio Scotland sports headlines

Deila maintains that he is not concerned about his position at Celtic... Derek McInnes says no-one believes his Aberdeen side can win the Premiership... Necastle stay in the English Premier League relegation zone after 3-0 defeat by Everton... Scotland team for Six nations opener against England to be named at lunch-time

06.32 Radio Five Live sports headlines

Ross Barkley performance rated 'phenomenal' by Everton boss Roberto Martinez following their 3-0 win over Newcastle... Newcastle two points from Premiership safety... Watford and Chelsea goal-less... Ronny Deila defiant after second loss in four days and pleads for calm... Gary Neville under pressure in Spain after 7-0 cup defeat from Barcleona for his Valencia side, but says he won't walk away... century for Jos Buttler steers England to victory in One Day International in South Africa... England rugby winger Chris Ashton set to find out if his appeal against a 10 week ban has been successful... Brett Rumford the early leader at Dubai Desert Classic

The Back Pages

The Herald leads on the pressure that is building on Ronny Deila after a second significant defeat in four days and also mentions ex-Ranger Bert Konterman’s assessment of the club’s boss Mark Warburton, Jordan Firth signing for Glasgow Warriors and reassurance being offered to potential Olympians regarding the risk posed by the Zika virus.

The National carries knews of the court case against Rangers chairman Dave King being dropped by Sports Direct along with a picture of Aberdeen’s debut scorer Simon Church.

In The Evening Times Leigh Griffiths calls for Celtic’s players to be blamed rather than their manager, but admits they cannot make any mistakes against East Kilbride while Dominic Ball targets silverware at Ibrox to boost his English Premier League ambitions.

Grandstanding – today’s sports comment

Alison McConnell suggests it had been a season of nightmares for Ronny Deila and elsewhere in The Evening Times former Rangers defender Bert Konterman offers his views on how Mark Warburton has settled in at Ibrox and on the ‘crazy punishment’ handed to the club in 2012.

In The National ‘The Kicker’ calls for the worst offending football supporters to take a serious look at themselves, while my weekly column in The Herald focuses on how Scotland are aiming to defy some major number-crunching as they seek to reclaim the Calcutta Cup for the first time in eight years.

Sporting Twitterati

Tough day for Celtic boss Ronny Deila on the Twitter-sphere, but one observer offers just a touch of relevant perspective on how tough the job is by commenting on the efforts in management of ace pundit Gary Neville

I'll be surpried if Ronny Deila is still in a job by the weekend, another gutless, heartless & directionless display from his team #Celtic

— Inside The SPFL (@AgentScotland) February 3, 2016

"Celtic firing blanks" says commentator, as fans pray 'blanks' is Ronny Deila's new nickname

— Oldfirmfacts (@Oldfirmfacts1) February 3, 2016

My on the whistle match of the report from Pittodrie. Is Deila going to lose a one horse race? https://t.co/7xFRGTksSX

— Neil Cameron (@NeilCameron5) February 3, 2016

Premier League managers up and down the country currently going, 'aye Gary, not easy is it?' https://t.co/YcBUl1qqEk

— Chris Holt (@HoltChris) February 3, 2016

Behind the sports headlines

After England won what was their first Grand Slam in 23 years back in 1980 their jaggy scrum-half Steve Smith offered some insight into what they encountered in their decisive match in Edinburgh.

"The atmosphere in Murrayfield was just electric," he said.

"Of all the people that hate the English, I can honestly say the Scots hate us the most. I don't know what our ancestors did to them but we are paying the price, you can imagine what it's like up there."

His tone was not that of a man who had been in any way cowed by the experience after a team led by Bill Beaumont and with Clive Woodward in its back line.

In motivational terms the word 'hate' can be a dangerous one in a sporting context.

Paul Casey certainly found that out after the Arizona-based Englishman offered the view of Americans in 2004 that: "We properly hate them."

There was no competitive backlash in that instance, admittedly, since that year's Ryder Cup had already been played in the USA with the Europeans soundly beating their opponents, while they were to do so again two years later. However Casey was to pay a price with a loss of sponsorship and a huge dip in popularity which may or may not have contributed to a subsequent loss of form and his Ryder Cup team-mate Paul McGinley, who was to do a fine job of generating the right competitive attitude in his Ryder Cup squad two years ago, was clearly unimpressed.

"Hate is a bad word to use... a terrible thing in sport," he observed.

That is partly because it places competition in a different perspective and it is in that context that Scotland winger Sean Maitland's light-hearted observations on his upbringing in New Zealand could offer some cause for concern to his team-mates and supporters.

"My grandparents made it pretty clear that I had to hate the English," he said.

"Not many people in New Zealand like the English.”

It has been heavily emphasised that the amiable Maitland, who now plays his club rugby in England with London Irish, was joking as he said so, however it is not only the media who are inclined to take words out of context when it suits them.

It is a joke that may well have the ring of a truth spoken in jest when heard by English ears and while Eddie Jones, England's head coach who has done plenty of goading of them in the past and Dylan Hartley, the mouthy New Zealander who is their captain, may struggle to capitalise fully, there will be others in their camp who seize upon Maitland's comments and use them to fire the England team up for their trip north.

Thanks for reading. Back tomorrow with another day’s Scottish sports agenda.