⚽ The Kick-Off - Friday 16th January 2026
Lyndon Dykes signs for Charlton Athletic. Hearts agree pre-contract with Josh McPake. Kilmarnock sign Kelle Roos on loan. KDM Evolution Trophy Quarter-Final and Semi-Final draws.
🌎 Days until Haiti v Scotland at the World Cup: 148
📒 Random Scottish Football Fact #230: Rangers made the Scottish Cup Final 14 times between the 1929–30 season and 1965–66 season, winning the trophy on every occasion.
It is Scottish Cup Fourth Round weekend. One of the best weekends in the Scottish football calendar - a chance for more memories and history to be made.
If you do one thing this weekend, please recommend The Scottish Football Kick-Off to a friend. For The Kick-Off to continue long-term, more subscribers (both free and paid) are required.
NEWS
✍️ Lyndon Dykes has moved to Charlton Athletic from Birmingham City. The striker has signed a deal until the end of the season. Fingers crossed for more regular game time at The Valley. - Charlton Athletic website
✍️ Hearts have agreed a pre-contract with St Johnstone winger Josh McPake. The 24-year-old will join the Jambos in the summer following the expiry of his contract at McDiarmid Park. - Heart of Midlothian website
🔵 Former Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos has joined Kilmarnock on loan from EFL club Notts County. The 33-year-old joined as Tobi Oluwayemi departed Rugby Park to return to Celtic. - Kilmarnock FC website
🤝 At a General Meeting yesterday, the SPFL’s member clubs also voted to implement the Scottish FA’s Cooperation Agreement System permanently in SPFL competitions following a successful trial period during the current campaign. - SPFL website
🔴 Just when it looked like things were calming down to an extent at Hamilton Academical, this was their website last night.
📝 Stephen O’Donnell has signed a one-year contract extension at Motherwell. - Motherwell FC website
🔵 Cove Rangers forward Chris Maguire has signed a contract extension until the end of the season. - Cove Rangers on X
🏆 The KDM Evolution Trophy Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals draws were made yesterday. - SPFL website
Quarter-final draw:
Arbroath v Airdrieonians
Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Stenhousemuir
Queen’s Park v Raith Rovers
St Johnstone v Ayr United
Ties to be played midweek of January 27/28
Semi-final draw
Arbroath or Airdrieonians v Queen’s Park or Raith Rovers
St Johnstone or Ayr United v Inverness Caledonian Thistle or Stenhousemuir
Ties to be played midweek of February 24/25
🔵 Rangers interim CEO Fraser Thornton has been appointed to the SPFL Board until the end of the season. - SPFL website
🎣 As part of the annual opening ceremony in Meikleour, Steve Clarke made the first cast of the salmon fishing season on the River Tay. You can watch his Radio Tay interview below or read more about it via Andy Coyle on the STV website.
👔 Forbes Bespoke Tailoring will be the official suit supplier of the Scotland National Team at this year’s World Cup. - Scottish FA website
🗣️ Andy Robertson has told the media that he is keen to stay at Liverpool but wants to continue playing football. With his contract expiring in the summer, the Scotland captain has said: “I've got five months left, and we need to see what the option is to stay or if there's options to go and things like that. I need to sit down with my family and decide.” - Aadam Patel, BBC
🚫 Following the decision to opt out of having VAR at the Livingston v St Mirren fourth round tie tomorrow, the clubs involved have decided there will be no VAR at Dundee United v Ayr United, Kilmarnock v Dundee or Motherwell v Ross County. - Alan Temple, The Courier
📺 Not news but an interesting read all the same from Alex Marr (SPFL MediaWatch) on what Scotland’s next TV deal could look like. There is no paywall on this article.
LATEST TRANSFERS
Permanent Signings
Connor May - Montrose to Turriff United - Montrose FC website
Connor Smith - Hamilton Academical to Scunthorpe United - Scunthorpe United website
Robbie Mahon - Edinburgh City to Airdrieonians - Airdrieonians website
Loan Signings
Dylan Wells - Motherwell to Stirling Albion - Motherwell FC website
Kelle Roos - Notts County to Kilmarnock - Kilmarnock FC website
Sander Kartum - Heart of Midlothian to Wellington Phoenix - Heart of Midlothian website
End of Loans
Tobi Oluwayemi - returns to Celtic from Kilmarnock - Kilmarnock FC website
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL FIXTURES TODAY
🏆 Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Fourth Round
Rangers v Annan Athletic (7.45pm)
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL ON TV THIS WEEKEND
📺 Friday
Rangers v Annan Athletic (Premier Sports 2: 7.45pm)
Sportscene: Scottish Cup Highlights (BBC One Scotland: 11.30pm)
📺 Saturday
Dunfermline Athletic v Hibernian (BBC One Scotland: 12.30pm)
Sportscene: Open All Mics (BBC One Scotland: 4.30pm)
Heart of Midlothian v Falkirk (Premier Sports 1: 8pm)
Sportscene: Scottish Cup Highlights (BBC One Scotland: 10.30pm)
📺 Sunday
Aberdeen v Raith Rovers (BBC One Scotland: 2.30pm)
Auchinleck Talbot v Celtic (Premier Sports 1: 5.30pm)
Sportscene: Scottish Cup Highlights (BBC One Scotland: 10.30pm)
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