McCulloch Contests Stamp Ban

Photo by Jeff Holmes Lee McCulloch will contest the Scottish FA's offer of a two-match suspension for an alleged stamp on Raith Rovers forward Dale Carrick. The Light Blues captain, who was booked during the 2-1 WIlliam Hill Scottish Cup fifth-round defeat at Ibrox on Sunday, was cited by the governing body's compliance officer Tony McGlennan for appearing to "deliberately stand upon" the on-loan Hearts striker's leg. The 36-year-old will now face a hearing at Hampden Park on Thursday, February 12. Carrick, who was substituted in the second half, has returned to Tynecastle and is set to be sidelined for the next six weeks after aggravating his hamstring. Jambos head coach Robbie Neilson told Hearts News said: "I'm disappointed for Dale and I'm disappointed for Raith too. "Dale's worked so hard to get back to full fitness so it's a shame that he'll now be out for six weeks. "He's popped his hamstring, so he'll return here for treatment and we'll just try to build him up again." Goalkeeper Cammy Bell hopes to regain the Light Blues number one jersey after returning to training following five months out with a shoulder injury. Steve Simonsen has deputised in his absence but Bell is closing in on a return to action. He told the club's official website: "I hope that I can make a positive impact when I come back into the team. All I can do is work hard and bring my presence back into the team. "I think that the defenders are comfortable with the way that I play the game as they've played with me a lot before and that will be the same when I get to know the new faces we have. "I think that Simmo has done well this season when he has come in; he's an experienced goalkeeper and I think that we do play slightly differently. "Hopefully I can come in when I get the opportunity to make an impact to the team." Meanwhile, Rangers First has become the UK's biggest fan ownership group less than a year after being launched after increasing its stake in the Ibrox outfit to 1.7 per cent. The group - backed by former players Richard Gough, Jorg Albertz, Claudio Reyna, John Brown, Nacho Novo and Gordon Smith - now boasts over 8,100 members, putting it ahead of the Foundation of Hearts. Members make monthly donations and cash raised so far has been used to buy up 1.4million shares. Spokesman Ricki Neill said: "The timing is perfect because perhaps for the first time in the club's history Rangers fans will have a voice at corporate level by voting at the forthcoming general meeting. It is crucial for all supporter shareholders to follow the voting guidelines, register and vote correctly or proxy their shares."