ALEX McLeish will use 'Helicopter Sunday' as his inspiration to take faltering Birmingham City to the Premier League.
The Midlands outfit blew their big chance last week when they lost at home to Preston, but a win at Reading on Sunday will seal promotion.
McLeish was in charge at Ibrox in 2005 when Rangers clinched the SPL by winning 1-0 at Hibs after Motherwell
netted two late goals to beat Celtic 2-1.
It caused the helicopter carrying the SPL trophy to change direction and head to Easter Road, giving the former Scotland manager reason for optimism. McLeish said: "At half-time, Celtic were winning, we were drawing and it was their title to win. We kept the players with a positive mind-set and that is what got us through."
Talking of helicopters, if the Scottish Football League titles are not settled this weekend, the following week could have the SFL chopper in a whirl.
A spokesman said: "If everything is still up for grabs next weekend, we have the helicopter on standby, as we could be going to any of three grounds at Airdrie, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Peterhead, Annan and Cowdenbeath." Phew!
Hatton's a poet and he knows itBRITAIN'S Ricky Hatton took a leaf out of Muhammad Ali's poetry book when confidently predicting victory in his IBO light-welterweight title defence in Las Vegas against Filipino Manny Pacquiao, regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
"I may be fat, I may be round but guess who's going to be the best pound-for-pound?" he said. Which proves Hatton has a long way to go before he floats like a butterfly, or even stings like a bee. And "Cassius Clay, the most beautiful fighter in the world today" would never have admitted to a weight problem.
Amateur title is child's playCECILIA Cho and Lydia Ko had a good reason to miss the second day of the new school term – the pair were battling for the New Zealand women's amateur golf championship in Auckland.
Both bespectacled and wearing pink tops, Cho, 14, beat Ko, who only turned 12 last Friday, 4&3 after building a four-hole first-round lead.
The pair were the youngest finalists in the 115-year history of the amateur championship while Cho was the second-youngest to win the title, at three weeks and three days older than Larissa Eruera was when she won in 2006.
TALES FROM THE TABS
ARISE SAINT HIGDONMORE transfer speculation in the tabloids yesterday, with the Daily Express reporting that St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson will make a move for Falkirk striker Michael Higdon in the summer.
Higdon, 25, has scored 13 times in 41 appearances for Falkirk and will be a free agent at the end of the season. The Express says MacPherson is keen to freshen up his strike-force, with Craig Dargo and Jim Hamilton both coming to the end of their contracts.
"He has been impressed with Higdon and believes he could add muscle and presence to his frontline," said the paper.
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, meanwhile, made the news pages of the Sun newspaper after being spotted test-driving a £64,000 BMW.
Rooney has reportedly lost his £1 million deal with Mercedes-Benz, and the paper reported: "The United striker showed off the 153mph 7 Series model to team-mates at their Carrington training ground... The star is said to have his eye on a luxury family car for when he and wife Coleen become parents later this year."
The full article contains 602 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
