Curbs to don kilt stories stretch credulity

It must be a depressing business being a football journalist in Scotland, endlessly writing stories about Celtic and Rangers. And if you get a story about a signing at Arbroath or Cowdenbeath, who is going to be interested? Hence, the apparent emergence of Hearts at last as the much vaunted 'third force' in Scottish football must be manna to the Edinbugh based The Scotsman and its chief sports writer, Stuart Bathgate.

With Sir Bobby Robson apparently ruling himself out of the race to succeed George Burley, Scottish punters (who had perhaps had a few too many drams) raced yesterday to betting shops in the Scottish capital to back Curbishley for the Tynecastle post. William Hill were forced to suspend the book and the odds on the Charlton manager have now been cut from 80/1 to 16/1.

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe commented, 'It seems very unlikely that a manager who reportedly turned down a move to West Ham, just a couple of miles down the road, would move hundreds of miles for a different club in a different league in a different country and apperently in off-the-field crisis.' Quite. One might add that Hearts are hardly a bigger club than Charlton.

Having lived in Glasgow for a year, my Scottish club is first division Clyde who, of course, no longer play in the city.