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EDDIE ANNAND last night claimed betting is rife in Scottish football's dressing rooms.

The former striker - who played for eight senior clubs in a colourful career - has smashed the silence on a gambling culture he swears has gripped the game.

Annand has had enough and in an explosive interview the seasoned professional has revealed the inside story that will shock our readers.

He claimed pre-match talk is more centred on tips than tactics.

He revealed he was ordered to take a penalty because his teammates had lumped on him scoring the first goal in a game.

And he lifted the lid on the time he received a call the night before a game when a player correctly called the result.

Annand, 38, said: "When there are online bets on bookings, red cards and even how many corners there will be, then it's going to be open to abuse. It is a horrible aspect of football.

"It's naive to think football is clean, it's not and people in the game know it. There have been a number of shady goings-on during my time in the game.

"I recall getting a phone call one Friday night from someone telling me the result of a game the following day. The caller was spot-on but he should have been as he was playing for the team that lost and he'd stuck a £2000 bet on that happening."

"There is a dark side to football gambling. It's a disgrace to bet against your club but we all know it goes on.

"For some players it's too tempting to deliberately throw aspects of a game as they can make more than they earn.

"Gambling is deep-rooted in football and it's the biggest talking-point in dressing rooms before matches.

"It's being abused every weekend as the majority of players stick a coupon on and that's supposed to be against the rules.

"But so long as players don't bet against themselves I don't have a problem with it."

Annand doesn't have to dig deep into his memory bank to recall a long list of occasions where he's been a major player in dressing-room betting cartels to try to take money off the bookies.

Annand, now a youth coach at Clyde, said: "During a spell at one club I received a call from my manager on a Friday night before a match and he asked me if I could take a fitness test to see if I could make the game.

"I hadn't played for six weeks but passed the test. On the day of the game I took a call from a well-known Old Firm player who asked me if I was going to be playing because the bookies had me at 12-1 to score the first goal and clearly didn't think I would be playing.

"By the time word got round, the odds had been slashed because all my teammates had so much money on me.

"One of them - who was the club's penalty-taker - took me aside in the warm-up and asked if, on this occasion, I could hit them. I asked him why and he said: 'Because I've got £50 on you to score first'. I had £100 on myself and managed to score after just two minutes and ran away rubbing my hands together, which was the trademark of a certain big-name striker in England who was the first to do it.

"It was the code in football for getting the bet up and it was good news for another of my team-mates that day. He was happy as he'd bet so much on me to score first he paid off his car."

The explosion of spread betting and the increasingly-huge role gambling firms play in football has opened the door to dodgy behaviour from people with the power to influence the outcome of games.

Annand hopes those responsible for enforcing the law take a commonsense approach to the issue. Currently footballers d from betting on themselves wn team.

He said: "I don't have a problem with players betting on themselves to win. It means they are trying their best to ensure that happens although it's maybe not the healthiest thing to do as it can affect your focus.

"It's when it goes the other way and players throw games or deliberately get booked or sent off that action needs to be taken.

"It is the lowest of the low to let down your club, the fans and your teammates just to make a quick buck."

The debate as to whether some players stray off the ethical line when it comes to becoming involved in football betting is set to get another airing.

And Annand discovered during a stint at one club that taking a punt on yourself doesn't always go according to plan.

He said: "The boys at this particular club had booked to go on an end-of-season break to Magaluf before our final game of the season.

"We all put up £400 each and raised £3600 to put on ourselves to win the game so we would have a massive kitty for our holiday.

"The opposition gaffer got wind of the bet and had his players fired up to prove a point.

"But with the score level at 1-1 we were awarded a penalty in the 87th minute.

"I stepped up and MISSED it!

"I'd cost the lads a fortune and, needless to say, I wasn't a popular guy after the game."