A laid-back Lewis Hamilton insisted he was “just chilling” as he delivered a wet-weather masterclass to triumph in a chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix and take the championship battle to the deciding race of the season.

Celtic re-opened a four-point lead over Aberdeen at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership with a 2-1 win over Partick Thistle at Firhill as Leigh Griffiths once again got on the scoresheet.

Celtic boss Ronny Deila will appeal Dedryck Boyata’s red card against Hamilton at New Douglas Park on Friday night.

LIKELY to be chased as a trophy Killarney purchase, as either a hotel with further potential, or as an extraordinary private residence once more, is the 38-bedroomed Victorian timepiece Cahernane House Hotel, on the Muckross Road in Killarney.

Celtic 8 Hamilton 1: Striker Leigh Griffiths helped himself to a hat-trick as Celtic thrashed hapless Hamilton 8-1 at Parkhead to go six points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership last night.

De La Salle College 1-17 Hamilton High School 0-8: A late scoring spree of 1-5 over the final 10 minutes rubber-stamped a second win of the campaign for De La Salle but Hamilton’s defensive configuration kept Dermot Dooley and his management team occupied throughout.

Limerick FC manager Martin Russell believes his team can travel to Turner’s Cross for tomorrow’s meeting with title-chasing Cork City with renewed hope of avoiding relegation.

Ronny Deila is preparing for probably the biggest week of his tenure as Celtic boss but is hopeful of even more excitement to follow.

He’s the Irishman whose goals have ensured that what should be a procession resembles a contest.

SCOTLAND:

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes vowed his team would enjoy being top of the Scottish Premiership but remain focused after a 2-0 win at Fir Park extended their lead to four points.

Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara masterminded his first victory over former club Celtic as a 2-1 Tannadice win fired the Tangerines back into the Scottish Premiership title race.

A repeat of last year’s semi-final pairing is in store as Dr Harty Cup holders Ardscoil Rís were drawn with Hamilton High School in the quarter-final.

The Nenagh-Midleton clash was to determine the other qualifiers from Group 4, which Hamilton High School had already won.

Hamilton High School, Bandon 2-16 Midleton CBS 0-21

The Tartan Army have no right to boo Republic of Ireland international James McCarthy on Friday night, according to his former Hamilton team-mate Alex Neil.

Professional footballer Anthony Stokes will stand trial in May for an alleged assault at a Dublin nightclub.

Scottish Premiership play-off final: Hibernian 0 Hamilton 2 (aggregate 2-2, Hamilton win 4-3 on penalties)

Hamilton HS, Bandon 0-13 Dungarvan CBS 0-11

Drogheda United boss Mick Cooke says he has had several approaches already following the shock announcement by the club last week that they would not be offering him a new contract for 2014.

Monday was James McCarthy’s summer in microcosm — a day of rumour, raised hopes, expectations apparently dashed and then, at almost literally the eleventh hour, confirmation that, finally, he was back in the top flight.

Everton boss Roberto Martinez last night sealed a triple swoop for James McCarthy, Romelu Lukaku and Gareth Barry to bring a dramatic end to transfer deadline day at Goodison Park.

Irn-Bru First Division clubs have moved to break the deadlock surrounding reconstruction of Scottish football by proposing the formation of an SPL2.

Kick-off 2.30pm unless stated –

The protracted saga of the hunt for a new manager of Limerick will finally end later this week when Stuart Taylor is unveiled as the successor to Pat Scully.

The battle for supremacy in the six-team Group A in the Dr Harty Cup should become clearer following today’s round of games.

Salisbury have been forced to abandon their first meeting in five years due to a waterlogged track.

Leading gas supplier Calor has diversified its interests into the home appliance distribution market, via investment in North-based company, Hamilton Gas Products.

Celtic could face another meeting with cup bogey side Inverness in the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

Holders Celtic will face Peterhead in the William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round in January following today’s draw at Hampden.

NORWICH suffered a stunning 4-0 home defeat at the hands of npower League One leaders MK Dons as the three newly-promoted Premier League clubs exited the Carling Cup at the second-round stage last night.

A TALENTED striker on Arsenal’s books, who has declared for the Republic of Ireland, is attracting strong interest from Glasgow Rangers.

St Mirren 1 Aberdeen 0

RANGERS kept on the coat tails of Celtic as they made hard work of their 1-0 win over Hamilton yesterday.

Hamilton 0 Rangers 1

Sebastian Vettel today breathed a sigh of relief after maintaining Red Bull Racing’s remarkable run of pole positions.

GARETH BALE and Samir Nasri have both been nominated for the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year awards.

Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra has been ruled out for two to three weeks with a hamstring injury, further limiting manager Walter Smith’s defensive options.

Dundee Utd 3 Aberdeen 1

Celtic 2 Hamilton 0

Neil Lennon starts a four-match touchline ban today against Hamilton but the Celtic boss again finds himself with more serious concerns following the interception of a suspicious package which had been addressed to him.