Michael Grant on Monday ; EDDIE TURNBULL

WHATEVER Stuart McCall, found out about his players from thatwoeful 5-0 rout by Rangers, he certainly learned something abouthimself. It seems he isn't the manager of Motherwell after all. Or,worse still, he's in the job but not completely committed to it.First and foremost he is "a Rangers man" who wouldn't have lost anysleep on Saturday night about the team he picks going down so tamelyon its own turf. This must be true, because internet messageboards,Twitter, Facebook and guys phoning radio stations said so.

We've not heard the last of this. Prepare for a fortnight of it.There aren't Hearts, Dundee United, Kilmarnock and Motherwellmanagers and players now, just "Rangers men", "Celtic men" or thosewho will lean one way or another when push comes to shove.Apparently we have a league full of people as interested in helpingone of the Glasgow pair win the championship as they are in servingthe club which pays their wages.

So Celtic are about to play "Terry Butcher's Caley Thistle" onWednesday. Everyone knows what that means, eh? Big Tel, Rangersthrough-and-through, desperate to do his old club a favour bythrowing a spanner in the works and knackering things for NeilLennon. All of a sudden a Caley Thistle team beaten by Aberdeen atthe weekend will be flying into tackles against Celtic as if theirlives depended on it. This will "prove" that Butcher will have themfired-up. How dare he?

What a yawn it all is. It seems we haven't grown up since theChris Sutton story. Sutton famously ran off at the mouth back in2003 when Celtic lost out on the league title to Rangers on thefinal day. Celtic won 4-0 at Kilmarnock that afternoon - all cleanand above board, of course - but because Rangers' winning marginagainst Dunfermline was greater by a single goal - 6-1 - Suttonaccused the Fifers of deliberately letting them win. "We knew theywould lie down," he said when a microphone was thrust under hismouth within minutes of full-time. He claimed everyone knew thatDunfermline, managed by Govan-born "Rangers man" Jimmy Calderwood atthe time, wouldn't put up much resistance at Ibrox.

Sutton was hurt and frustrated that a glorious season for Celtichad ended without a trophy and, frankly, he wasn't in control of histhoughts let alone his words as he was interviewed in the heat ofthe moment. Before that weekend was out Sutton - as intelligent aplayer as Scottish football has had the privilege of enjoying in thelast decade - had apologised to Dunfermline. He crossed the line byquestioning the commitment of fellow professionals, not to mentionmaking the pretty groundless assumption that there would be Rangerssupporters in their team but no Celtic ones.

If it "suited" McCall to lie down to Rangers on Saturday thenwhat sort of mental gymnastics will he have to go through when hefaces Celtic on the final day? Motherwell go to Parkhead in theirlast match of the season, which may well be the day on which thetitle is decided. If Celtic win the league Motherwell will be inEurope next season regardless of how they do in the Scottish Cupfinal. McCall will be quite within his rights to rest key men thatday to preserve them for the cup final one week later; but imaginethe uproar from "his" Rangers if he does.

If Celtic win the league on goal difference how long will we haveto wait until November 6 is brought up by Rangers supporters. Thatwas the day when Celtic put nine unanswered goals past a teammanaged by a Celtic supporter. Mark McGhee was utterly mortified bythat result, which accelerated him towards the sack as manager ofAberdeen. That won't be mentioned on messageboards and Twitterthough. Some Rangers supporters will be happy to insist that itsuited him perfectly well because he had helped "his team".

SPL clubs are liberally sprinkled with players who supportRangers or Celtic. St Mirren's Jamie McCluskey was caught out ascameras showed him leaping to celebrate a Gary Hooper goal in thederby; apparently he exaggerated it to wind-up Rangers-supportingteam-mates. McCall, Butcher, Derek McInnes and even Craig Brown,going way back, were on Rangers' books during their playing careersand now pick teams to try and beat them. Need proof? Butcher tookfour points off Rangers in the league this season before Celticmanaged to take even one.

None of that matters to the more excitable Old Firm fans. Such istheir obsession that one thing hasn't occurred to them: there areplenty, rival managers and players included, who care as much aboutthe winner of the SPL title as they do about the outcome of the BoatRace.

Farewell Eddie Turnbull, a great football man. In the 1960s,Turnbull swept through Aberdeen like a hurricane and in the '70s hehad Hibernian playing football with a style they've never matchedsince. He was the real deal, a manager and coach of enormoussubstance.

Only a few months ago he was in splendid form at the launch of"The Management", the book on Scotland's great bosses written bymyself and Rob Robertson. He held court with the hacks at Hampden atlunchtime and was in his element again at an event in Edinburgh thesame evening. Imagine if anyone had the courage to accuse a Turnbullteam of lying down: he'd have had them by the throat against thenearest wall. RIP, Eddie.