Celtic and Rangers emerged with contrasting emotions despite both recording wins in week six of the cinch Premiership.
There were also wins for St Mirren, Hibernian and Aberdeen while Dundee and Kilmarnock shared the spoils at Dens Park.
Here are five things we learned from the weekend’s action.
Celtic get ‘monumental’ win
Brendan Rodgers called Celtic’s 3-0 victory at Livingston “monumental” after the champions built on their one-goal lead despite having Joe Hart sent off.
Celtic again showed a good response to adversity four days after picking up two red cards in a 2-0 defeat by Feyenoord.
Rodgers said: “Livingston is a notoriously hard place to come anyway, never mind with 10 men, so to play with that mentality was very good.”
Dons kick-start their season
Aberdeen had been experiencing their worst start to a campaign for almost a quarter of a century but they picked up their first win of the campaign at the sixth time of asking, and did so in emphatic fashion.
A 4-0 win over Ross County set the Dons up for a Viaplay Cup quarter-final in Dingwall on Wednesday.
The Saints go marching on
St Mirren are still only two points off the top after beating Hearts 1-0 in Paisley.
And it could have been more after they had three goals disallowed, two of them in controversial fashion.
Manager Stephen Robinson said: “I’ll let the fans enjoy it, let them dream and I’ll keep within the realism.”
Montgomery shows his intent
New Hibernian head coach Nick Montgomery made history in his first match at Easter Road by making Rory Whittaker the club’s youngest player at only 16 years and 44 days.
Whittaker was a ball boy for Hibs earlier in the season but he came off the bench in a 2-0 win over St Johnstone that continued Montgomery’s unbeaten start to life in Scotland since his move from Central Coast Mariners.
Rangers take a step back
That was the analysis of manager Michael Beale despite a third win and clean sheet in eight days.
Beale was unimpressed by his side’s performance in a 1-0 win over Motherwell, days after being left delighted by the same scoreline against Real Betis.
The goal came courtesy of a deflection off Cyriel Dessers and Motherwell had a number of chances to maintain their seven-month unbeaten Premiership run on the road.
Beale admitted: “We got away with one.”
Nick Montgomery wants Hibernian ‘up there challenging’ ahead of Celtic test
Inside Easter Road reminders are everywhere, including on the mouse mats, of what is expected at Hibernian.
Doing the small things, humility without an ego, and reinforcing a demanding but healthy culture sit alongside the desire to consistently qualify for Europe and close the gap on Celtic and Rangers.
On Wednesday, boss Nick Montgomery – three months into his reign – gets the chance to test their progress again.
Under chief executive Ben Kensell, Hibs’ internal mantra is to be the club which dares to do things differently. It is up to Montgomery to ensure it happens on the pitch ahead of the trip to Celtic.
“It’s very hard but you only have to look at Leicester in the Premier League, no-one really expected them to do that (winning in 2016),” the former Sheffield United midfielder tells the PA news agency.
“Every club in every league will see that as an inspirational story. Is it sustainable? No, it’s hard to be sustainable because look at where Leicester are now but that’s a one-off example.
“You can only try to achieve the best positions every season. It’s not easy to compete against the two giants of the division, but that’s something every team aspires to do.
“I’m not saying we can compete on any level with them financially, budget-wise that’s never going to happen.
“What we can do is make sure we have a team competitive enough to make sure we’re competing in every game.”
The long-term plans stem from Kensell, who has laid important foundations at Easter Road and was key in helping bring Montgomery to Edinburgh from Central Coast Mariners in September after Lee Johnson’s departure.
Former Reading manager Brian McDermott also joined as director of football in May.
Kensell was a driving force behind commercial and on pitch success at Norwich, as chief operating officer, before leaving in 2021. He helped oversee two promotions to the Premier League and guided them through the pandemic as part of the club’s executive committee.
Another of the 10 points at Easter Road which underline the demand on staff is “enjoy what you do, work hard, play hard and smile”. It is something which resonates with Montgomery and translates into what he is doing on the pitch.
“In the time I’ve been here we’ve had a lot of progress in terms of an identity on the pitch, off it we want people to enjoy it but also know it’s going to be hard work,” he says, from his office at the snow-covered training ground in Tranent.
“The first thing is getting to know people, what their strengths and weaknesses are and creating a team environment but one where everyone demands off each other.
“The boys are a tight-knit group, we have brought in a couple of speakers and sports psychologists to talk to them about bonding and how you can become stronger.
“That’s my job, to make sure that happens, to create an environment where everyone feels they can be themselves.”
Montgomery won Central Coast Mariners’ first A-League title in 10 years last season and has now been joined by wife Josie and daughters Eva, Chloe and Leah, who watched their first game, Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Aberdeen, after flying from Australia.
A third straight win left Hibs two points behind third-placed Hearts and Montgomery believes it is just the beginning.
“Everybody knows there are two massive teams in the league but you want to be up there challenging,” he said.
“We want to become a club with an identity, a club that develops players, one which can sell players to the biggest leagues in the world and reinvest back into the academy and the foundations.
“We want to keep growing the fanbase and the community and give everyone a club to be proud of.”
Ben Smith proud of Ramsgate’s FA Cup run despite defeat at AFC Wimbledon
Ben Smith insists he is proud of Ramsgate’s FA Cup run despite elimination following a 5-0 defeat against AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane.
Iraq international Ali Al-Hamadi scored twice for the Dons, with Jake Reeves, Josh Neufville and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans also finding the net.
The Rams started the evening as the lowest-ranked team left in this season’s competition, but the five-goal defeat means they miss out on a home clash with Championship high-flyers Ipswich.
However, Smith was delighted to see his side stick to their style of play against EFL opposition.
“I am proud of the boys, I thought they gave it their all,” he said.
“I can’t say a player didn’t give me everything, they went to the last minute, and we did it in bucket loads.
“I think at times we did show some composure, and we did move the ball well, I just think we came up against a much better and stronger level of opposition than we are used to.
“They pressed the life out of us at times, we just didn’t have the answers in terms of forward passes.
“I would liked to have seen us score a goal, we had a couple of chances and their keeper pulled off a great save in the first half.
“It was just not to be, but I am proud of the players, it is not about tonight it is about the journey.
“You can see from the support at the end there, it was incredible.
“We move forward, it is about the league now, and this club needs to be higher than it is, that is our job, and we will use this as a springboard.”
Johnnie Jackson believes the Tractor Boys will provide a tough test when they travel to south London in the third round.
He said: “They are a top side and they are doing a great job there.
“They are doing some great stuff, and they have a chance of going up to the Premier League this year with what they are doing in the Championship.
“It will be a really tough game, but we know that, but we have been excellent here of late.
“That is five on the bounce now at home, so we feel like we can match teams, especially here.
“It will be the other way round, we will be looking to cause the shock and they will be looking to get the job done.
“The Ramsgate fans were class, they really added to the atmosphere of the game and they will probably be a bit disappointed that they did not see their team score.
“Credit to them, credit to Ben and his team, they have done themselves proud.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists he wants to keep goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale
Mikel Arteta insists he wants to keep Aaron Ramsdale – but refused to rule out the England goalkeeper leaving Arsenal in January.
Ramsdale lost his position as Arteta’s first-choice goalkeeper earlier this season following the arrival of David Raya on loan from Brentford.
Since September 3, Ramsdale has made just three appearances – two of which came in the Carabao Cup, with his one Premier League game in that time coming with Raya ineligible against the Bees.
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With his place at Euro 2024 in the balance as he continues to warm the bench at the Emirates Stadium, Ramsdale’s future is seemingly up in the air.
Arteta recently urged Ramsdale to be patient over any decision, saying the situation could look very different in March.
A shoulder injury to England colleague Nick Pope, however, could see Newcastle in the market for another goalkeeper in January.
Asked if he would be open to selling Ramsdale to Newcastle, Arteta replied: “I want Aaron with us.
“I am very happy to have two very, very good goalkeepers and Aaron is staying with us.
“We want to be better, so we want to add to what we already have. That’s the intention that we have.”
But, when pushed on whether he would categorically rule out a January switch for Ramsdale, the Spaniard added: “I won’t do that to any player. Any player.
“I cannot tell you that any Arsenal player is not going to leave in January. Or he is to stay here for the next three years.
“I won’t say that no player is going to go to Newcastle. Or no member of the staff either. I won’t say it. If you say yes or no, I won’t say it.
“I cannot guarantee that nobody is going to be leaving in January. For Newcastle or any other club. So it is a no.”
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