By Alistair Gordon

Copyright glasgowworld

A former Chelsea and Newcastle United star is the favourite for the Ireland job, while a manager Rangers wanted in the summer says he’s staying put. Celtic defeated Kilmarnock 2-1 on Sunday thanks to a late penalty from Kelechi Iheanacho. The Hoops got off to a great start when Daizen Maeda got on the end of a Marcelo Saracchi cross to head home, however Kilmarnock’s David Watson then equalised with a bullet header of his own. After the Hoops received a controversial penalty in the last minute, Iheancho held his nerve to send the away fans wild. As Brendan Rodgers prepares for a trip to Maryhill, a former Parkhead coach has been linked with the Irish National Team job. On the other side of the city, things have gone from bad to worse for Russell Martin. The Rangers boss took his side to Loch Lomond for a ‘bonding trip’ after their humiliating 2-0 defeat to Hearts at home, courtesy of a Lawrence Shankland brace. As The Gers now welcome another Edinburgh side to Ibrox, Martin’s job is hanging by a thread, however one of the men in the running to replace him has intentions to stay at his current club. In the managerial merry-go-round that is Scottish football, here’s a look at the latest news coming out of Celtic Park and Ibrox: Damian Duff has been announced the front runner for the Irish National Team job. The former Celtic coach under Neil Lennon is set to replace Helmir Hallgrimsson as first team boss after The Boys in Green’s horrendous start to their World Cup qualification campaign. Duff won the League of Ireland Premier Division as Shelbourne boss in 2024 and is now ready to make the step up to the International stage. The Irish team recently lost 2-1 Armenia in what was a significant blow to their World Cup 2026 hopes. During his time at Celtic, he helped the club win a domestic treble as a coach in 2019. He then joined the Irish National Team setup in 2020, when Stephen Kenny replaced Mick McCarthy as manager. Rangers‘ summer managerial target, Davide Ancelotti has indicated he wants to stay at Botafogo. As the pressure builds on Russell Martin, The Gers have been re-linked with the Italian however it appears he wants to stay on in Brazil. According to the Daily Record, he said: “we still have 17 games left in the Brasileirão, and we have to start reacting today. We have to keep improving, playing well, and in the Brasileirão we have opportunities to finish the season strong. Now we don’t have to think about the title, we have to think about today’s game and react, which will be very important to demonstrate our unity at this moment.” Ancelotti also added that he would never go down the Russell Martin route of criticising his players. He said: “I certainly bear full responsibility. I’ll never blame my players.” The current Rangers boss has been condemned his own players in the past, saying some of them need to ‘manage anxiety’ better. Your next football read: How to watch the Premier Sports Cup semi-final draw: date and time as Rangers and Celtic aim to be in the hat