HMRC have rubbished claims from discredited Rangers owner Craig Whyte that his club are being singled out for special treatment.

Whyte’s latest outburst came yesterday afternoon when he made a number of accusations while admitting that he had used a loan from Ticketus to buy the club and pay off the £18m debt to Lloyds TSB.

That information was freely available on various message-boards and blogs as early as last June but was denied by Whyte until yesterday.

Despite having his reputation trashed since the turn of the year Whyte accused HMRC of trying to make an example out of Rangers.

Today a spokesman for HMRC said: “We can’t discuss specific cases for legal reasons, but tax that has been deducted at source from the wages of players and support staff, such as ground keepers and physios, must be paid over to HMRC.

“Any business that fails to meet that basic legal requirement puts the survival of the business at risk.”

The statement added: “Any business that regards paying tax as an optional extra after other expenses are met, or that uses tax collected from employees or customers as working capital, is potentially heading for trouble.

“There is little HMRC can do for a business – be it a football club or not – whose viability is dependent either on not paying the UK taxes to which they are liable, or on special treatment not available to other customers with similar tax affairs.”

HMRC have rubbished claims from discredited Rangers owner Craig Whyte that his club are being singled out for special treatment.

Whyte’s latest outburst came yesterday afternoon when he made a number of accusations while admitting that he had used a loan from Ticketus to buy the club and pay off the £18m debt to Lloyds TSB.

That information was freely available on various message-boards and blogs as early as last June but was denied by Whyte until yesterday.

Despite having his reputation trashed since the turn of the year Whyte accused HMRC of trying to make an example out of Rangers.

Today a spokesman for HMRC said: “We can’t discuss specific cases for legal reasons, but tax that has been deducted at source from the wages of players and support staff, such as ground keepers and physios, must be paid over to HMRC.

“Any business that fails to meet that basic legal requirement puts the survival of the business at risk.”

The statement added: “Any business that regards paying tax as an optional extra after other expenses are met, or that uses tax collected from employees or customers as working capital, is potentially heading for trouble.

“There is little HMRC can do for a business – be it a football club or not – whose viability is dependent either on not paying the UK taxes to which they are liable, or on special treatment not available to other customers with similar tax affairs.”

Celtic’s SFA Youth Cup semi-final with St Mirren has been put back a week to Sunday April 1 with a 1pm kick-off at St Mirren Park.

The game had been scheduled for Sunday March 25, the same date as Celtic’s first team are scheduled to visit Ibrox to play Rangers.

With the game being put back a week and played at St Mirren Park it should ensure a bigger crowd as John Kennedy’s side attempt to win the trophy for the third year running.

So far Celtic have overcome Kilmarnock, Dunfermline and Aberdeen to reach the last four of the national tournament.

On Saturday Celtic host St Mirren on league duty with an 11am kick-off at Lennoxtown.

In the SPL Celtic are trailing leaders Hearts by seven points with two games in hand over the Edinburgh side.

Celtic’s SFA Youth Cup semi-final with St Mirren has been put back a week to Sunday April 1 with a 1pm kick-off at St Mirren Park.

The game had been scheduled for Sunday March 25, the same date as Celtic’s first team are scheduled to visit Ibrox to play Rangers.

With the game being put back a week and played at St Mirren Park it should ensure a bigger crowd as John Kennedy’s side attempt to win the trophy for the third year running.

So far Celtic have overcome Kilmarnock, Dunfermline and Aberdeen to reach the last four of the national tournament.

On Saturday Celtic host St Mirren on league duty with an 11am kick-off at Lennoxtown.

In the SPL Celtic are trailing leaders Hearts by seven points with two games in hand over the Edinburgh side.

With a 17 point lead in the SPL , hopefully 20 after the Dunfermline match,  it would be very easy to get carried away and to take it as read that we will win the league. Lets be clear, it’s going to take something incredible to happen for us not to win it now but the players can’t get into the mindset that it’s all over and done with.

They always say that it’s not over till the fat lady sings, I think she’s clearing her vocal chords without having started to sing yet.

I think that we will win it, but I have also thought that in the past and I’ve turned out to be wrong. Really, I don’t want to sound negative here but if you can, have a thought about how bad it’s going to look if we didn’t finish the season as league champions.

Ok, if you’re still with me after that thought, then we can move on.

A lot is being made of the fact that we could clinch it at Ibrox, my personal preference would be to have the league clinched at home and to them play Rangers FC (in administration) at home as champions.

I am very sure that since Neil Lennon has experienced heartache in past campaigns that he will not be taking anything for granted so hats off to Neil and the team for the result and performance that they produced v Hibs on Sunday.

Some may argue now that with such a big gap between us and the rest, that it will become even more difficult to keep our focus so here’s hoping that we can have a good spirited performance and that we can enjoy a big party at each of our games between now and the end of the season.

With the amount of, in my opinion, idiots, who tell us a league win would be devalued, I think the best way to shut them up would be win it by a record breaking margin.

Next item on my agenda, or rant if you prefer, is songs of hatred and bigotry. Thankfully, I didn’t have to witness the hatred that spouted from the stands of our cash strapped rivals on Saturday, but I have been hearing that it’s as bad as it was on last years League Cup Final.

The easy thing now is for us to say ‘well they are going unpunished for it so we should be allowed to do it too’. I’d urge our fans not to follow that mindset and to keep up with any of the non offensive songs that we are famous for.

Call me paranoid, but if we were to sing songs and to be found guilty, I wouldn’t put it past the SFA, or relevant powers that be, to introduce the deduction of points that’s been proposed in the past try and close the gap between us and whoever happens to be in second place.

My final point is something that I touched on in my most recent piece for this site. I made it clear that I don’t think that we need a strong Rangers FC (in administration). Well instead of going over that point, does anyone know why we would need them to be strong?

So far, the only people that I’ve heard saying that we do need them are people who are not fans of Celtic.

No more derby games is the only viable argument I have heard yet, maybe some readers can convince me otherwise?

I have to be honest and say that yes, I would miss them but I would also say that I get much more enjoyment out of any European run than I have ever had against Rangers FC (in administration). If it was a straight choice between the two, I’d prefer the European games. Of course, it’s not a choice at all and we have no control over what happens anyway but I guess there’s no harm in discussing it.

Also, I’ve opened up an account on Twitter, so feel free to give me any feedback on this or anything else I’ve written @1888steven.

And if you’re the person who has @steven1888, can I have my name back please?

CLICK HERE for HMRC have been very very supportive of Rangers

CLICK HERE  for SFA finally launch Rangers enquiry

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The SFA are feeling the heat from UEFA after allowing the Rangers crisis to develop all season.

Yesterday Stewart Regan made some stinging criticisms of Craig Whyte’s leadership of the club less than a week after expressing his deep regret that the club had gone into administration.

The SFA are responsible for licencing all clubs in the country and ensuring that those clubs entered into European football are on a solid financial footing.

Fortunately for Regan Rangers aren’t still involved in the Europa League but twelve months ago Walter Smith’s side were in the middle of ties against Sporting Lisbon.

Yesterday the SFA named the independent panel to investigate the issues at Ibrox with Regan admitting that he has been snubbed for nine months from investigating Whyte.

“The SFA has been kept at arms length by the club’s solicitors,” Regan claimed.

“Despite our best endeavours to get information that would allow us to take a considered view we just haven’t had any information. We made a number of requests to solicitors who were acting for Mr Whyte and we had an exchange of correspondence going back to October.

“I don’t know how many letters were involved but there was a lot and we became increasingly frustrated at the obstructions being put in place to prevent us finding out information we needed.

“We wanted to give the club every chance to explain the situation but that has been difficult.”

Perhaps if the SFA had issued some sanctions they wouldn’t have been fobbed off so quickly.

It took the SFA until December to comment on Whyte after the Rangers chairman was forced to disclose that he had served a seven year ban from holding a directorship.

Only after the club was placed in administration did the SFA announce an independent enquiry with a number of member clubs owed money by Whyte’s disastrous running of Rangers.

Despite the embarassment of Rangers going into administration and the effect that it has on the image of Scottish football Regan’s initial reaction was one of surprise and sympathy.

Last Tuesday Regan said: “I would like to express my deep regret that a Scottish institution should find themselves in the kind of parlous state that has necessitated today’s course of action.”

He added: “This is a profoundly sad chapter in the history of Scottish football and we should not underestimate the potential ramifications for the image of the game as a whole.

“It is important that we learn lessons from this dire situation and work together to provide a platform for clubs to thrive and prosper within their means.”

Rangers must produce audited accounts that confirm the club as a going concern before March 31 to compete in Europe next season. The accounts must be no more than six months old.

If Rangers aren’t licenced to compete in Europe next season it opens up an additional European place for clubs to compete for.

Next season Scotland has two Champions League qualifying places and three Europa League spots allocated.

After yesterday’s announcements by Whyte there appears no prospect of Rangers coming out of administration in next month leaving the door open to Motherwell or St Johnstone to appear in a Champions League qualifier for the first time.

The chances of reaching the group stages are slim but if they get through one qualifying round then lose out they’ll get a second opportunity of European football through the Europa League.

CLICK HERE for HMRC have been very very supportive of Rangers

CLICK HERE  for SFA finally launch Rangers enquiry

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After a week when crash courses in financial and insolvency law to get back to the good auld 442 and the simplicity of scoring goals after p*sh poor defending, crap goalkeeping and delightful play.

Celtic weren’t old (average of 23) but we were beautiful in our romp to winning our 15^th league game in a row and Neil Lennon becomes the first manager to win 18 domestic games on the trot since Jock.

We recorded our biggest win over Hibs since December 2003 when a 6-0 victory was recorded (Hartson 2, Sutton 2, Henke and Stan) and our biggest win at Easter Road since May 2001 when we recorded a 5-2 victory (Jackie Mac 2, Henke, Stubbs – one of his last gemmes for the club after he returned from cancer he was a player was Big Stubbsy – and Lubo).

Aye, Hibs are staring relegation in the face…it wasn’t hard to wonder how they were so bad despite a few new faces who one paper seemed like decent additions. Then you saw Pitbull. Feck me. R*ngers saw a move for him supposedly kyboshed for money reason. Really? I thought it would have been for severe lack of talent reasons. He looked like a player that has been bought on his Yous Tube footage.

We face Dunfermline next. Another team I have seen in real time recently and who are showing signs of first division clobber. The last time they beat us (1-0) was in 2005 in the meeting before we tonked them 8-1. They also beat us again in May 2004 (2-1) at CP when the league was already won.

They seem to have a bit of a habit of getting results against us. I remember gave Wim a bloody nose on his domestic home bow with a 2-1 victory in 1997 and in 1989 when they returned to the Big Time recorded another 2-1 victory when Istvan Kozma (voted Liverpools worst EVER signing) scored causing the Jim Leishman to teach Jose how a OTT celebration was done. I hear Jose has it on DVD.

We are told that this will be the standard we will face in life without r*ngers. Smaller clubs every so often getting a result against us. What’s the change then? It’s the standard we face in life with the uglies. I probably remember the 1997 & 1989 gemmes as much as a Dunfermline fan (also Craig Falconbridge stopping us winning the League at East Park in 1998 is another Par in the ointment).

This league is already being devalued and the event hasn’t happened and it seems that some want us to start breaking records to ensure that this title isn’t tainted.

That’s not for me. I’m enjoying the ride. Being voracious got oor neighbours into the problems they are facing (ok, also being stupid and gullible had a MAJOR part in it). We are talking about matching and beating St Martin’s 25 league winning streak.

We are eyeing r*ngers winning margin of 21 points with the savage intentions of attacking it, chewin it up and spitting it out over the corpse of the Scottish gemme. A treble is being viewed as a given despite hard ties against Kilmarnock (good but inconsistent) and DuNT (becoming a one off tie specialist) to come.

Getting too far ahead of ourselves. We need to look and enjoy what we are doing now. When it goes wrong (it will, nothing more certain) we look at our previous and say we will get back on the wagon quickly as we have proved we can. You can’t write the future but you can look to the recent past to predict a bright future.

In our last 5 away gemmes we are averaging 3.20 goals scored. We have lost 0. Double F has 15 clean sheets with an ever changing back four. We start and end strongly. We have scored 14 goals between 10-20 mins and also 14 goals between 70-80 mins in gemmes this season.

We have the two best strikers in the league. It’s a pleasure watching them as they sit on the porch like two cousins duelling banjos in the race to win the Tartan Slipper. You can’t devalue both of their records this season.

Hooper scored his 18th and 19^th of the season. Last seasons total of 22 can feel his breath. He became the SPL’s outright top scorer with 15 beating Jelavic’s penalty assisted 14 total (5 pens). He doesn’t even make the top 10 players for the number of shots attempted this season. As accurate as William Tell.

His partner in crime has spent more time on a bench than a Michael Jackson jury. Still he has managed a scary 72 shots at goal (sign of greed or just a natural striker…YOU DECIDE?) and his 18 goal tally is only 1 off last seasons total. His minutes to goal ratio is frightening and STILL our manager says he can do more.

Our second goal yesterday was a perfect example of their perfect match. It’s a match so perfect those dating computers should be looking at how our coaching/scouting staff done it.

Hooper breaks from deep and finds Tony Stokes with a faultless pass. Stokes used his ability (an ability that saw Arsenal take a punt on him at 16) to turn the defender and then show an unselfishness that his shooting stats don’t point you too fed Hooper – who had continued his run as he usually does – to finish with ease.

The scary thing is that when Stokes gets dropped to the bench I no longer question it. I’m conditioned to think that he can do better but I’m also conditioned to think that when he plays or comes on we will get something from him. Samaras is not a good sub. Stokes is. Why am I thinking Mark McGhee?

McGhee was as valuable to us in the Centenary Season as Walker or Macca. He was a gemme changer and weighed in with some vital interventions. While Stokes is not a super sub, that is an insult to him and subs, is he just a perfect example of a squad player. You need every player in your squad to contribute and he is certainly doing it.

The whole squad are contributing. The stats are not lying and can’t be devalued.  This title won’t be tainted.

Long may it continue.

Celtic’s u-17 side lost their 100% record in the Glasgow Cup going down 2-1 to Rangers tonight at Murray Park.

It was a disappointing performance from the 17s with no-one doing themselves justice or putting in the sort of display needed to win a derby match.

Celtic started the match promisingly enough and deservedly took the lead in the 16th minute. Lewis Kidd raced forward from midfield, exchanged passes with Paul McMullen then slotted a low shot beyond Liam Kelly in the Rangers goal.

Unfortunately that was as good as it was to get for the visitors as they failed to build on that early goal.

Without particularly threatening Rangers levelled the scores in the 32nd minute when Charlie Telfer scored from the penalty spot.

Adam Brown almost scored straight from the restart but ten minutes into the second period Rangers took the lead from a low angled shot by Fraser Aird that didn’t show the Celtic defence in a good light.

Substitute Luke Donnelly came closest to equalising with a header in the 87th minute but his effort from 8 yards out flew straight at Kelly.

CELTIC: Hart; Hinley (Watters 77), O’Connell, Findlay, Madden; Brown (Henderson 68), Kidd, Lindsay, Mjallby; Kirwan (Donnelly 58), McMullen

CLICK HERE for Lennon we’ve cut our cloth and it hurt

CLICK HERE  for SFA finally launch Rangers enquiry

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Rangers are on the edge of nowhere, teatering on the edge of the abyss not knowing what will happen to them.

Some clubs even though funds are scarce are managing to keep their heads up in the SPL.

This period of a new era could all come together with a new television deal should a new structure of Scottish football go ahead at somepoint in the foreseeable future.

If we had a more vast set of teams in the top division that would be a start but it sadly all comes down to the money and where it will go.

To come full circle in a few paragraphs is quick I know but will rangers down fall let other teams slip in and come to the forefront?

I imagine you could take your pick from Motherwell, Hearts, St Johnstone, Kilmarnock or Dundee Utd?

I personally think the next major benefactor in scottish football could be Ross County.

Hear me out, I can almost hear the embellished echoes of ROSS COUNTY whats this guy on?

Yes Ross County, a team that developed the first youth academy in Scotland, a team that plans on an SPL seating structure in its stadium, a team that is growing and sitting at the top of the Scottish first division and sadly hands up beat us less than 2 years ago.

They have good backing, Roy MacGregor, chairman of Global Energy Group, that is an oil-rig servicing company. In my perspective anything involved with Oil from my recollection spins money at the moment so Ross County could be looking at a bright future.

They have ex-celts Rocco Quinn, Michael Gardyne and also a prolific but handy striker in Colin McMenamin. They are preparing for evolution in football, it is teams like Ross County at the other end of the spectrum, when compared to the gers, what Scottish football needs.

I wish them well and could be a mainstay in the SPL inside the next 5 years should their plans go ahead.

In regards to hope and wishing a Brown has come out, after being questioned about rangers survival, and said “Rangers have to be there, as far as I’m concerned,”.

Geoff Brown, St Johnstones former chairman, has mouthed his concerns over rangers, so he adds to the mixer on the case in support of rangers.

He basically says we need them, I think we do not, I would prefer, as I have discussed, a new power or three in Scottish football rather than having the same comments from my EPL supporting counterparts of “Scottish football, its rubbish quality, 2 team league run by your lot and the gers, theres no competition is there?”

My response usually consists of an “F” and an “O” and normally its from a Bolton supporter or Blackburn so they have no room for comment.

Your responses please folks.

Where is Scottish football going?