Reports in the media suggest that Sunderland manager Roy Keane is set to axe 11 players from his squad in order to start rebuilding for next season. Having spent £40m already and having kept the Black Cats in the Premiership on the strength of a good run since January, Keane has now asked for an additional £50m to ensure regular Premiership football in the North East.

Ian Harte, former Celtic player Stanislav Varga, Stephen Wright and veteran striker Andy Cole have already been told they will not get new contracts. Speculation is rife as to who else will be shown the door, but for Aberdeen fans the most eagerly awaited news will be what happens to former player and Scotland regular Russell Anderson.

Having left Aberdeen in a £1m move in June last year, Anderson has made only one league appearance for Sunderland, coming on as substitute for McShane and bringing down Wigans Antoine Sibierski  to concede a penalty seven minutes after later. He was then injured before being farmed out to Championship side Plymouth on loan spell where he's made 14 appearances (together with former Aberdeen team-mate Chris Clarke).

Meanwhile, Aberdeen have suffered since losing their influential captain in central defence. Diamond, Mair and Considine are good players. Maybury would be a great addition should he stay at Pittodrie. Richie Byrne is on his way out and Dave Bus is returning to the Netherlands. We could clearly use a player with the experience and skill of Russell Anderson to steady the back four as we prepare for next season.

A return to the North East for Anderson is what many fans would like to see, but would he return? Aberdeen would probably struggle to match the wages offered by Sunderland (or even Plymouth - consider that Championship teams and most League 1 teams pay more than Scottish clubs outside the Old Firm) and you would have to wonder whether he'd want to return to his hometown club when he could be earning more - as well as developing his game - by playing in the lower divisions in England. At the end of the day I hope he doesn't turn into a journeyman footballer like Eoin Jess, another player of whom great things where promised but who went from club to club (Bradford, Nottingham Forest, Coventry and Northampton) generally not living up to expectations.

Charlie Adam is a surprise addition to the Rangers squad for Motherwell's visit having previously been ruled out for the season through injury.

Fellow midfielders Lee McCulloch and DaMarcus Beasley are likewise close to fitness but miss out against Well along with injured goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

Ross McCormack, Stephen Hughes and Simon Lappin are likely to return to Motherwell's starting line-up Ibrox.  However, captain Paul Quinn misses the rest of the season with a broken jaw.

Rangers are undefeated against Motherwell this season, winning two and drawing one. Both teams are in need of the points, so a tight game is expected. Rangers must be careful not to incur too many bookings or injuries, as they have 2 tough games coming up in the next seven days.

On Saturday they face Dundee United at home (a team also chasing the Eufa spot), then 4 days later face Zenit St Petersburg in the Uefa Cup final in Manchester.

Motherwell have only won 2 (one of those against Celtic) of their last 7 games and drawn 1. Scoring has been proving a problem with only four goals scored and 11 conceded.

Rangers have not had an easy time of late. Back to back defeats to Celtic, a disappointing performance against Hibernian and long drawn out games against St Johnstone and Fiorentina (both games going to penalties) are surely taking their toll on the Ibrox side. However, they're on a high: two cup finals coming up, and a strong possibility of winning the league.

I predict a Rangers win: 2-0

Aberdeen goalkeeper Derek Soutar is set to sign for American MSL outfit Houston Dynamo.  The 26 year old former Scotland under-21 international is expected to be invited to Texas for a trail once the SPL season concludes.

Soutar has been told by Aberdeen he will not be offered a new contract when his current deal expires in the summer.  Houston are managed by former St Johnstone player Dominic Kinnear and coached by retired Scotland international John Spencer. They actively scout in Scottish football and recently recruited English goalkeeper Tony Caig from Gretna.

The Dynamo management team have been impressed by reports on Soutar and are keen to add him to a Scottish colony which includes Aberdeen-born Stuart Holden.

Derek Soutar formerly played with Dundee, as well as loan spells at Alloa and Brechin before arriving at Pittodrie on a free in July 2006. In total he’s made 17 appearances for the Dons and had been set to claim the No 1 jersey following Jamie Langfield’s much publicized troubles with the Aberdeen management. Langfield however has managed to hold on to his place. Along with Derek Soutar, reserve team goalkeeper Greg Kelly has also been released.

With no adequate backup for Langfield, the search for a goalkeeper continues, with ex-Aberdeen player Derek Stillie widely tipped to make a return to the north-east following his relatively unsuccessful spell at League 1’s Gillingham.