Rumour Mill: Caixinha criticises King | Lafferty '˜doesn't fancy' Celtic duo | cops probe tweet to Griffiths

Caixinha criticises King

Pedro Caixinha has criticised Rangers chairman Dave King after earning his first win in charge of Mexican side Cruz Azul. The Portuguese head coach praised the structure at his new club, saying he has a “direct and close relationship” with the president, which is a “huge difference” from what he experienced in Glasgow. (Daily Record)

Lafferty ‘doesn’t fancy’ Celtic duo

Kyle Lafferty has revealed he felt confident about getting the better of Celtic defenders Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata because he “didn’t fancy them as two centre-halves”. The Northern Irish striker, who scored in Hearts’ 4-0 victory over the league leaders, says the duo make mistakes if you put them under pressure. (Various)

Police to investigate sick Griffiths slur

Police Scotland have confirmed they are investigating a disgusting slur made towards Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths on Twitter. The Scotland international called out a user who tweeted “I cannot wait til your four children die” as Celtic lost to Hearts at Tynecastle. The account has since been deleted. (Scottish Sun)

Rangers stars must cope with pressure

Bruno Alves has called on his Rangers team-mates to better cope with the pressure of playing at Ibrox. The Light Blues lost 3-1 to St Johnstone on Saturday, which was already their fourth defeat at home this season. Alves believes the players should sometimes look to control the tempo of the game and not get caught up in the atmosphere. (Various)

Levein wants players to maintain standards

Craig Levein has challenged his players to maintain the performance levels reached yesterday on a historic afternoon at Tynecastle. The manager joked he wasn’t able to relax until “around the 89th minute” of Hearts’ 4-0 win over Celtic but planned to savour the result after a stressful year. (The Scotsman)

Rodgers wants another run

Brendan Rodgers backed his Celtic players to a put together another unbeaten run after the champions fell to their first domestic defeat since May 2016. The manager gathered his players in a huddle around him after the shock 4-0 loss to Hearts. Rodgers urged them to press “the re-set button” and start again, beginning on Wednesday night against Partick Thistle in a rearranged fixture. (The Scotsman)

Hibs want to make up for embarrassing loss

Hibs midfielder Dylan McGeouch has vowed to make up for the “embarrassing” 4-1 defeat by Aberdeen that left the Easter Road side nine points behind the second-placed Pittodrie team in the Ladbrokes Premiership. Gary Mackay-Steven netted a hat-trick and Graeme Shinnie scored as the Dons beat an extremely off-colour Hibs, who netted a late consolation through Anthony Stokes. (Evening News)