Derek McInnes believes Neil Lennon is on 'a hiding to nothing' and warned his return to Celtic will be viewed as a failure if Aberdeen are allowed to wreck the Parkhead club's latest treble dream.

Brendan Rodgers won his seventh straight domestic trophy when he lifted the Betfred Cup earlier this season - beating Aberdeen in the final - while also leaving the champions on the verge of their latest Ladbrokes Premiership triumph before leaving for Leicester.

It is now down to Lennon to keep the club on course for another domestic clean sweep when they take on Aberdeen in Sunday's William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final, but Dons boss McInnes said: “He’s actually on a hiding to nothing, because if he wins the league, and he’s already said it’s Brendan’s team and he’s been really gracious doing that, and if he wins the cup, people will say that. But if he loses the cup it’s Neil’s team." 

But Celtic ace Callum McGregor says the Parkhead dressing room is united behind Lennon - and the Northern Irishman’s case to take a page out of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s book and land the job on a permanent basis will become irresistible if he can lead Celtic to a treble.

McGregor said: "If you see the success with Solskjaer at Man Utd - people were talking about 'if you get into the top four he will get the job'. People will ultimately judge you on success. If we manage to do it then he has a great shout. And he would have deserved it all well.”

Lennon could be dealt a Scottish Cup blow though if his side ovecome Aberdeen in Sunday's semi-final - Timothy Weah may miss the final.

That's because he could be a key member of the USA Under-20 World Cup squad when the final rolls round on May 25. The club v country showdown is an exact copy of last year when the Hoops faced a similar scenario with loan star Patrick Roberts and England.

USA Under-20 coach Tab Ramos said: "My hope is to have the squad together for at least 10 days before the World Cup, but the reality is, if it's a really important player to the team and I have to wait until after that weekend of the May 19th, then I'll likely to decide that it's important for the team to wait that long to get a player in."

The other semi-final sees Hearts play Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Jambos legend Jim Jefferies is hoping history repeats itself. Jefferies was Hearts boss when they won the Scottish Cup in 1998 and says Saturday is "a massive opportunity for them to get to another Scottish Cup final". 

Meanwhile, Ronald de Boer has urged his former club Rangers to follow the Ajax blueprint for success as they step up their bid to challenge Celtic for the major honours in Scottish football once again – by putting their faith in home-grown talent.

De Boer, the former Dutch internationalist who is now assistant manager of the Ajax A1 or under-19 team, said: "I think Rangers should look to do it more and not just focus on signing players for the first team. It always starts with the foundation and the pillars of success are the youth.”

Ajax play Juventus in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday night and De Boer revealed loosening the purse strings as well as bringing through their own has boosted the Dutch masters. He said: “What has helped Ajax get to this point has been a big change in philosophy. They are now prepared to spend more money on players than they used to.

Motherwell have banned a supporter "indefinitely" for throwing an object at Rangers captain James Tavernier during a Ladbrokes Premiership match at Fir Park on Sunday. 

The Ibrox right-back was bombarded with objects as he went to take a throw-in in the first-half of a game that Steven Gerrard's team won 3-0. Items including a lighter, a pie and a coin all landed near the player. Motherwell have been studying CCTV footage and still photographs since the incident and have managed to identify one supporter and issue him with a ban. They are continuing to investigate another supporter.

Speaking to the official Motherwell website, club chairman Jim McMahon said: "I am sure our supporters understand that we are left with no other option but to take a hard line approach with not only these two individuals, but anyone else who steps out of line.”

Former Hibernian and Dundee United boss Mixu Paatelainen has landed a shock role as head coach of the Hong Kong national side. Paatelainen admitted: “It’s a wonderful opportunity."

In rugby, Glasgow Warriors coach Dave Rennie - linked with the Australian national team job - has signed a year's deal at Scotstoun and hasn't ruled out staying longer. Rennie, who has upped his own workload in planning for the 2019/20 season, said: “The wife’s happy, which is key, so we could well stay longer."

In tennis, Leon Smith, the GB Davis Cup captain, says the new tennis academy in Stirling will prove inspirational and place sharper focus on development. Smith said: "People from all over will walk into that tennis hall and think this is where Andy and Jamie Murray trained. That is inspiring to anyone."

And, elsewhere, The Sun reports that Motherwell chief executive Alan Burrows says that the Fir Park club's swift action in identifying thug fans shows Scottish football doesn’t need strict liability.