An uninspiring encounter saw Inverness edge into the Premiership top six and Partick move a point clear of the relegation play-off place.

The hosts started strongly with Miles Storey going through on goal, but Tomas Cerny raced forward and blocked well.
Chances became infrequent, Ross Draper unsuccessfully claiming a penalty when he went down at the back post.
Liam Polworth had a great opportunity to win it late on but somehow steered the ball wide of the post.
A win for either side would have been a significant step and Inverness seemed intent on earning that early on.
Andrea Mbuy-Mutombo tried exactly the same effort that opened the scoring against Stirling Albion in the Scottish Cup midweek win but dragged his strike wide.
Another chance arrived moments later when Storey found space in the box, tried to slot the ball under Cerny, but the goalkeeper came out swiftly to deny him.
Inverness looked on-form and a period of pressure allowed Iain Vigurs an opportunity from outside the box which crept narrowly over the bar.
Slack play from a throw in gave Vigurs the chance to square with Frederic Frans just clearing his own bar with an attempted clearance.
The quality on offer took a fairly dramatic downturn with neither side particularly threatening. though a challenging wind may have played a part.
Draper claimed for a penalty when Mutombo nodded to the back post, and then just before half-time saw a header creep narrowly over from close-range.
For all of Thistle's lack of threat, they did defend stoutly after the opening period.
Kris Doolan had a scooped effort on the stretch from the edge of the box which was saved comfortably.
The second half lacked action for long periods but Storey almost netted a sensational opener with a fierce long-range drive which Cerny had to tip over.
Storey created the next chance when he got to the bye-line and cut back for Polworth, who couldn't hit the target when a goal seemed inevitable.
Perhaps a better point for the visitors who defended well and ease themselves away from the bottom with games in hand.


A celebration of "epic proportions" is being planned to mark the centenary of Roald Dahl's birth in 2016.

The author is famed for writing much-loved children's books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, Matilda and The Twits.
The Welsh government wants to build on the success of celebrations to mark 100 years since Dylan Thomas' birth in 2014.
Mr Dahl was born in Llandaff, Cardiff, in 1916 and died in 1990.
Events to mark the centenary of his birth will take place as part of the Year of Adventure - a Welsh government project which hopes to attract more tourists next year.
Deputy minister for culture, sport and tourism Ken Skates said "exciting plans" are in the pipeline.
"We will announce further details shortly, but I can say the ideas being developed contain plans of epic proportions," he added.


The final tranche of funding has been secured for a community buyout of 3,000 acres of land in Sutherland.

Garbh Allt Community Initiative (GACI) is to purchase Marrel, West Helmsdale, Gartymore and Portgower common grazing townships.
Common grazings are traditionally areas of land shared by crofters to raise livestock.
The initiative has secured £29,918 in matched funding from a fund linked to a massive offshore wind farm project.
The £6m Beatrice Partnership Fund is related to the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited (Bowl), a renewable energy scheme being constructed in the Outer Moray Firth at a cost of £2.6bn.
GACI has already been awarded £273,000 from the Scottish Land Fund.
Anne Fraser, chairwoman of the community group said: "We are absolutely delighted to have secured this funding from Beatrice.
"We will now be moving forwards with the owner, Sutherland Estates, to complete the purchase.
"We are excited that we can, at last, put our plans into action."
She added: "We will soon be advertising for a development officer and we will be holding information events in the area to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to hear what we're proposing and to have their say in the plans for the future of the GACI area."


Plans to bring back racing to Lincoln's West Common have been put on hold.

The Lincoln Racecourse Regeneration Company has withdrawn its application, three days before the proposals were to be considered by the city council.
The firm said it did not feel the application was going to be properly presented at the meeting and more work was needed.
Opponents of the scheme said they were delighted, adding that they intend to develop their own plans for the area.
The project had faced vocal criticism from some nearby residents who feared it would cause traffic congestion.
Last month the Commons Advisory Committee, a panel of local interest groups, criticised the proposals as being too vague.
Karen Rastall, one of the directors of the Lincoln Racecourse Regeneration Company (LRRC), insisted the scheme was only being deferred.
"We feel the report that was tabled for Monday evening and the options that were actually outlined for the council to consider were not in keeping with the discussions we had been holding with Lincoln City Council for a considerable period of time.
"They did not reflect the behind-the-scenes discussions that had been on the go and the information the council had been asking for."
Chris Dunbar, communications manager at City of Lincoln Council, said: "The meeting is still scheduled to take place as planned.
"The report to be presented to the executive is a fair appraisal of the proposal, taking into account both the information presented by LRRC and the comments of the Commons Advisory Panel."


Al-Qaeda militants based in Yemen have published a video purporting to show a British-born US hostage.

In the video, a man identifying himself as Luke Somers says his life is in danger and appeals for help.
The video also shows a member of al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) threatening to kill Mr Somers unless unspecified demands are met.
The journalist was abducted in Yemen in September 2013.
It is possible that he was one of a number of captives who were the object of a rescue mission by US and and Yemeni forces in a remote part of Yemen last month.
AQAP is regarded by the US as one of the deadliest offshoots of al-Qaeda.
The group is based in eastern Yemen and has built up support amid the unrest which has beset the impoverished country since the overthrow of President Ali Abdallah Saleh in 2011.
The undated three-minute video has not been released publicly.
Mr Somers worked as a journalist and photographer for local news organisations and his material appeared on international news outlets, including the BBC news website.
On 25 November, US and Yemeni forces rescued six Yemenis, a Saudi and an Ethiopian being held by AQAP in an operation at a mountain cave in the remote Hajr al-Sayar district of Hadramawt province. Seven militants were reportedly killed.


A secretive household where women were never seen, run by two tall and aloof brothers who showed rare and unexpected moments of kindness to local children, is part of a picture that is slowly building up about life in the Bin Laden compound.

As media access to the site has widened, more neighbours have divulged details about their interactions with the mysterious inhabitants of the fortified "mansion" in their midst.
Although the walled compound edged with barbed wire was set back in relative isolation, it was surrounded by three neighbourhoods: Thanda Choha, Bilal Town and Hashmi Colony. The residents of these areas provide sometimes contradictory accounts of their now infamous neighbours.
But one notable absence from all accounts is any mention of a tall, bearded foreigner resident in the compound.
People appear to have had absolutely no inkling that Osama Bin Laden, the world's most wanted man, was living just yards from them. And according to Pakistan's military, his Yemeni-born wife claims that she never left the compound in five years - and that he had also lived there for that duration.
The inhabitants of the compound certainly lived an isolated existence and had very little contact with their neighbours, residents in the area told the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Abbottabad.
The two brothers have been identified in numerous media reports as Arshad and Tariq Khan - although Associated Press reporter Nahal Toosi points out that there are conflicting local reports about their identity.
Some reports, such as the Guardian account, identifies one of them as the Bin Laden courier who the CIA was tracking, but BBC Urdu analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai says this information cannot be verified.
Plans of Bin Laden's house
Other neighbours in the Hashmi Colony area told BBC Urdu's Aijaz Mahar that the brothers posed as landlords from the fertile Charsadda area of north-western Pakistan who had moved to Abbottabad because of its pleasant climate.
One thing is clear: their desire for privacy was so marked that most people left them well alone. They did not mix with others and were rarely, if ever, seen at local wedding celebrations or other community occasions.
A reporter from the Indian channel ETV Uttar Pradesh even reported that one neighbour said that when local children hit a cricket ball into the compound, they were not allowed to retrieve it.
Rumours circulated about the men. Local driver Qazi Faisal told BBC Urdu's Aijaz Mahar that people thought these brothers were smugglers. Another witness told him that after the raid he could see soldiers removing what he thought were weapons, gold and cash from the house.
"They just said 'hello' and 'good evening.' If I said Salaam Alaikum, [traditional Muslim greeting meaning peace to you], they would reply properly," their closest neighbour, 20-year-old Qasim, told BBC Urdu's Nukhbat Malik.
He said they were always courteous but all seven members of his family agreed that they never once initiated conversation. Although reports concur that they behaved appropriately and were polite, they also exuded a sense of menace, other neighbours say.
"He used to come and buy household things... I never felt like asking him anything," shopkeeper Faisal told BBC Urdu about Arshad Khan.
"They absolutely did not interact. We saw them roaming around but they were not approachable," he said.
US officials said their long-term observation of the compound revealed that the inhabitants burned their rubbish inside the walls, rather than leaving it outside to be collected. They also revealed that there were no phone or internet lines into the house.
Every now and then, what looked like bullet-proof vehicles would go in and out of the compound, but security gates would slide shut immediately afterwards, locals told the BBC.
But there was also testimony describing moments of unexpected generosity.
One boy, 12-year-old Zarar Ahmed, told the BBC he used to visit the compound a lot, saying the family had three children - a girl and two boys.
"They gave us two rabbits. They had cameras outside, so that they could watch who was coming," he said.
He also said that the owner had two wives - one who spoke Urdu and one who spoke Arabic. Staff at the hospital where the injured were taken also told local journalists that the wounded from the compound spoke Pashto and Arabic.
A different account comes from al-Arabiya, which quotes Qari Mastana Khan of Bilal Town who says of the compound's inhabitants: "They were kind-hearted and would provide clean drinking water and food to poor neighbours. During the holy month of Ramadan, they invited us for iftar dinner [the breaking of the fast] at their house and served us delicious food."
The Pakistani military says they recovered 13 children from the compound - 11 boys and two girls - but it is not clear how many of these are Bin Laden's or if they attended school. Some neighbours told the BBC they thought the children were schooled at home.
The women in the home were never seen: most people assumed that this was because they were Pashtun, and they tend to observe strict purdah.
A newspaper hawker told the BBC that he had delivered newspapers to the compound every day, and at the end of each month his bill was promptly paid, always by the same man.
He never stepped inside the compound but said he had seen a red pick-up vehicle drive through the gates with a goat inside.
Shopkeeper Mohammed Rashid told BBC Urdu's Aijaz Mahar that two goats were delivered every week, presumably for slaughter and consumption. He also said that 10 litres of milk a day was left for the compound, adding that there were lots of children there.
"They used to come to the shops and buy sweets and toffees, but not the female children. We have never seen the women from the house."
The residents of the compound clearly employed a number of domestic helpers. Abbottabad hospital staff have told the BBC Urdu service that among those being treated in the wake of the raid are two women believed to be maids employed by the family.
After the compound was opened up to the media on Tuesday, Associated Press correspondent Nahal Toosi was tweeting her observations.
"I am in a bldg across from cpd. Looks like servants quarters. Piles of clothes, pillows on floor. Broken clock on ground. Stopped at 2:20," she reported. She also noted a mouldy lentil stew in a pot, half-eaten bread and an old television set.
Other observations abound:
The spacious and prosperous homes in these areas are known as "havelis" and, according to local journalists speaking to the BBC, the Bin Laden home was known as "Waziristan Haveli" or "mansion" - named after the semi-autonomous tribal area where many until now assumed the al-Qaeda leader was sheltering.
Satellite images between 2005 and 2011 reflect the change in the area and also show how the compound itself has expanded as more outbuildings, walls and privacy features have been built.
Notices on Pakistani property websites advise that land in the Hashmi Colony area, very close to the Bin Laden compound, is available. The area is seen as secure and stable.
About a kilometre north is Pakistan's prestigious Kakul Military Academy. And property is available here too. According to the seller, "it's a very secuir [sic] place near army farm house army jeeps takes 100 rounds in a day so very safe place to live".
There are few images of the interior. US officials released one picture of a bedroom on the second floor, showing a double bed strewn with pillows and cushions. The floors are blood-stained: this is said to be the room in which Bin Laden was killed.


Fifa is attempting to reclaim "tens of millions of dollars" taken illegally by both Fifa members and other football organisations.

Former Fifa officials Chuck Blazer, Jack Warner and Jeffrey Webb are among those being sued by world football's governing body, which has submitted documents to US authorities.
Fifa has been in turmoil since allegations of corruption in May 2015.
In total, 41 individuals and entities have been charged by US authorities.
A US investigation exposed widespread corruption at the top of world football and Fifa esitmates millions of dollars were diverted from the sport illegally through bribery, kickbacks and corrupt schemes carried out by the defendants.
In a statement, Fifa described itself as a "victimised institution", with new president Gianni Infantino saying those convicted "abused positions of trust".
He added: "They caused serious and lasting damage to Fifa, its member associations and the football community.
"The monies they pocketed belonged to global football and were meant for the development and promotion of the game.
"Fifa as the world governing body of football wants that money back and we are determined to get it no matter how long it takes."
Infantino, 45, was elected as Fifa chief last month following the suspension of predecessor Sepp Blatter, who had been in charge of the governing body since 1998.
He said that once the money had been recovered, it would be directed back to its original purpose to benefit and develop international football.
Ifantino added: "These dollars were meant to build football fields, not mansions and pools; to buy football kits, not jewellery and cars; and to fund youth player and coach development, not to underwrite lavish lifestyles for football and sports marketing executives. "


Premier League spending in the January transfer window could reach a record level on deadline day on Tuesday.

Top-flight clubs have already paid out over £150m and a final flurry of activity could see the total spend pass the £225m mark of January 2011.
Players may be leaving rather than joining the top sides, with Chelsea keeper Asmir Begovic and Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho perhaps moving.
The transfer window closes at 23:00 GMT in both England and Scotland.
You can follow all the deals and Tuesday's seven Premier League fixtures across the BBC on TV, radio, online, the BBC Sport app and social media.
BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty
January's transfer window is traditionally less hectic and with less quality on offer than August - but that does not mean Tuesday will be calm rather than chaotic.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will be low key on incomings but one of the biggest deals of the day may yet be an Anfield outgoing, with Liverpool still hoping to secure nearly £20m for outcast France defender Sakho.
The 26-year-old has drawn interest from Premier League rivals Southampton, Spanish side Sevilla and Turkish club Galatasaray - but word from inside Anfield is that this one could go down to the wire.
Chelsea may see some departures as the day progresses, with Bosnia goalkeeper Begovic the subject of a £12m bid from fellow Premier League side Bournemouth and veteran defender Branislav Ivanovic wanted by Russian club Zenit St Petersburg.
Begovic's departure will depend on the league leaders signing a replacement, so will they further pursue their interest in Craig Gordon from Scottish champions Celtic?
Southampton may be consolidated in the Premier League and in the EFL Cup final against Manchester United, but manager Claude Puel is in the market for attacking reinforcements with Napoli's Manolo Gabbiadini in his sights.
Gabbiadini was a target for Everton last summer only for a deal to fall down. His recent form does not inspire confidence, but the Saints have agreed a fee of about £14m for the player, who is set to have a medical on Tuesday.
Down at the bottom of the table, Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce says he has been trying to sign between 20 and 30 players - and could David Moyes be tempted to test Everton boss Ronald Koeman's resolve to keep his former captain Phil Jagielka at Goodison Park?
Koeman is a firm admirer of Burnley's fine young defender Michael Keane but faces a tough task prising him out of Turf Moor by close of play on Tuesday. This is one that might have to wait until the summer.
West Ham United are in the mood to spend some of the £25m they reluctantly accepted from Marseille for Dimitri Payet - so expect them to head in the direction of Brentford for £15m-rated striker Scott Hogan.
The race for promotion from the Championship may also spark some high-profile deals.
Newcastle United would like Everton's James McCarthy, but a £20m price tag and reluctance to sell makes that a tough deal for Magpies boss Rafael Benitez.
Will Benitez also pursue a return to St James' Park for winger Andros Townsend, such a success on Tyneside last season but seemingly not to Allardyce's liking at Selhurst Park?
Goals will make a difference in that division, so someone may be tempted to overlook Ross McCormack's attitude - so heavily criticised by Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce - and take a chance on his goalscoring.
And if Bruce can sell McCormack, it would be no surprise to see him direct some of the cash towards Middlesbrough's out-of-favour Scotland international Jordan Rhodes.
The names may not be A-List - but there are still potentially plenty of big deals to provide the usual ration of deadline day excitement.
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Online
Our transfer deadline day live text commentary gets under way at 08:00 GMT and you can access it from your computer, tablet or mobile via the BBC Sport website or app.
We will bring you the latest news, analysis, gossip and done deals from our reporters around the country and worldwide.
You will also be able to have your say as the transfers are completed.
Our transfers page will capture every confirmed move, while each club page will be updated with the latest transfer stories.
Later, we will have three separate live pages for all of the Premier League, English Football League and Scottish Premiership action.
Social media
You will be able to follow all the deadline-day deals via BBC Sport's Twitter account and share your views using #bbcdeadlineday.
There will also be the opportunity to give your reaction on the BBC Sport and Match of the Day Facebook pages.
Radio
There will be regular transfer updates on the BBC's national and regional radio stations.
On BBC Radio 5 live, Mark Chapman hosts a specially extended edition of 5 live Sport that will not only keep up with all the transfer news, but also bring you live commentary of Liverpool v Chelsea and all the goals as they go in from the other six Premier League matches.
The show will be on the air from 19:00-23:00 GMT. You can also watch what is going on in the studio on the BBC Red Button.
Chapman will be joined by former England defender Danny Mills and senior football reporter Ian Dennis, while football correspondent and former England winger Chris Waddle will be at Anfield.
TV
Gary Lineker hosts Match of the Day at 22:45 GMT (23:10 in Wales and Northern Ireland, 23:45 in Scotland) with highlights from all seven Premier League matches.
Lineker will be joined by former England internationals Danny Murphy and Jermaine Jenas to analyse the action and all of the transfer activity.
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Everton have spent the most by a Premier League club on a single player, paying Manchester United £24m for France midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin.
But that fee is dwarfed by the £60m paid to Chelsea by Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG for Brazil attacking midfielder Oscar.
At the other end of the financial scale - and in one of the most unlikely moves of this or any other transfer window - Arsenal recruited left-back Cohen Bramall from non-league Hednesford Town for £40,000.
The 22-year-old was a part-time footballer who had just been made redundant from his job in a car factory before he had his trial with the Gunners.
As it stands, that is the only cash paid out by the Premier League's top six, with spending mainly being done by teams trying to stay in the top flight - a trend that is likely to continue on Tuesday.
Crystal Palace stumped up £12m for Leicester City left-sided utility man Jeffrey Schlupp and another £14m for Sunderland defender Patrick van Aanholt.
Swansea recruited defender Martin Olsson and midfielder Tom Carroll for a combined £8.5m.
Sunderland, the Premier League's bottom club, recruited Everton pair Darron Gibson and Bryan Oviedo on Monday, while second-bottom Hull have sold midfielders Jake Livermore and Robert Snodgrass to West Brom and West Ham respectively for a total in excess of £20m.
For the Hammers, the money spent on Snodgrass was less than half of the fee received for Payet, the France playmaker who refused to play in order to force a return to Marseille.
Who do you think is the best January signing? Use the selector below to pick from our shortlist. Once you are done download your image and share with your friends.
Keep up to date with all the Premier League transfers in January as we track and profile all the players leaving or joining a club this month.
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Augmented reality game Pokemon Go has landed up in an Indian court over allegations it is hurting the religious sentiments of millions of vegetarians.

The high court in Gujarat state was asked to ban the game because its images of eggs in places of worship were "blasphemous" to Hindus and Jains.
The court has asked the makers of Pokemon Go to respond to the charges.
It is unclear if the makers, Niantic Inc, will do so. The court move has been met with derision on social media.
Pokemon Go has not been officially released in India, but many still play thanks to workarounds.
The game can be accessed from an Indian phone by signing into an iTunes account of any country where the game has been released.
Many reports say temples are often Pokestops - especially marked landmarks where players can gather supplies.
The petition also cited infringement of privacy, and a possible threat of life to the players searching for Pokemons as further grounds for banning the game.
The news invited ridicule on social media, with Pokemon Go trending on Twitter in India.
Many criticised the "frivolity" of the case, including former minister Shashi Tharoor who tweeted: "To file in the "Only in India" category! Would be funny if such frivolous cases didn't clog our judicial system."


A new way of doing hip operations in Sussex has reduced the amount of time patients spend in hospital by almost a half.

St Richard's Hospital, in Chichester, is using local anaesthetic, instead of general anaesthetic and morphine during surgery.
Hospital staff say that some patients who have had full hip replacements are up and walking within hours.
Time spent in hospital has fallen from seven days to less than four.
The patient is injected with local anaesthetic into their back and affected joint.
Dr Cathryn Eitel, consultant anaesthetist, said: "Patients can expect to be up and about the day they have the surgery.
"They will all be able to eat and drink on the day of their surgery and they will no longer have to have fluids attached to them."
The operation takes an hour-and-a-half, during which the patient is awake, though can be sedated to make them feel "woozy".
Mark White, senior physiotherapist, said the surgery had been a "big change".
"People are feeling less dizzy, less nauseous and having less pain," he said.
St Richard's said other hospitals around the country have also stopped using morphine, but it is the first to develop a specialist system involving operating staff, physios and recovery nurses in the procedure.


A man who called an MP's office and said she should be "Jo Cox'd" has been jailed for eight weeks.

John Wombell, 58, from West Drayton, London, made the suggestion when he called Conservative MP Anna Soubry's constituency office on 30 November.
In June last year Labour MP Jo Cox was shot - a week before the EU referendum.
On Monday Wombell appeared at Central London Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty to an offence under the Communications Act 2003.
Live updates and more from the East Midlands
He pleaded guilty to one charge of sending a message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing nature.
He was also issued with a restraining order.
Following the hearing, Ms Soubry tweeted her thanks to Nottinghamshire and Met police forces for their investigation.
In the same week  as Wombell's threat, the Broxtowe MP, who has been vocal about being a Remain supporter, also received a misspelt tweet asking someone to "Jo Cox" her.
A police spokeswoman said a 25-year-old man arrested over the tweet to Mrs Soubry on 2 December had been released on bail.
The MP has made no further comments on the matter.


Kris Commons has apologised for his angry reaction to being substituted in Celtic's loss to Molde on Thursday.

Commons, who scored in the 3-1 defeat at the Aker Stadion, said the incident was "something that should never be shown publicly on the field".
The 32-year-old's outburst seemed to be directed at assistant manager John Collins and coach John Kennedy.
"I was very frustrated at how the night had gone," said Commons on the Celtic website.
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"However, I did not handle this in the right way. My frustration at losing games and my desire to win will never change.
"I know we are all part of a team at Celtic and I am proud to be part of this team. I want this team to win and I am sure we can come together, work hard and get the results needed to qualify from this group.
"I still have every confidence we can do this and in a fortnight we have the chance to make amends [against Molde at Celtic Park]. That's the motivation now for us all.
"I'd like to apologise for my reaction last night, something that should never be shown publicly on the field."
Striker Leigh Griffiths revealed on Friday that Commons had apologised to the rest of the squad.
Manager Ronnie Deila would not confirm if the former Scotland player would be disciplined but, when asked if Commons would be available for selection against Dundee United on Sunday, the Norwegian said: "Yeah, of course.
"It's very important [that Commons apologised] and I'm happy for that," said Deila. "He came to me and did it at once and that's very good. We have dealt with it and now we have to move on.
"We have to have discipline and stay together and he really understands that.
"I've had many of these situations before - it's not the first time. Different sorts of situations as well.
"I'm confident that I have a good relationship with the players. Everybody's disappointed. We have to speak through things and get better."
Deila was also asked about the supporters' frustrations following the loss in Norway, which left Celtic bottom of Europa League Group A on two points - five behind leaders Molde.
"I understand they're angry," he said
"I really understand and I know a lot of people are travelling around with Celtic and have big expectations. We are very, very sorry and disappointed.
"We have to move on and make it good again and that starts on Sunday.
"You will lose football games. This time it was a bad performance, that's why it's even worse to lose. We have to get back on a good performance and the only thing we can do is look forward and do it on Sunday.
"I really believe in what we're doing. The situation is not unbelievably bad. We are top of the league, we are still in both cups, we still have a chance in Europe so there are some positive things."


Alternatives to Trident would either be impractical or more expensive, a review instigated by the Lib Dems will say, according to The Financial Times.

The Lib Dems and their Tory coalition partners disagree over whether to renew the submarine-based nuclear weapons system on a like-for-like basis.
The newspaper reports the review is to conclude that other delivery platforms would not work, or would cost more.
But it may suggest cutting submarine numbers could save billions of pounds.
The government said newspaper reports were speculative and the review would be published in due course.
A final decision on whether to build a new fleet of Vanguard submarines, which carry ballistic missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, has been pushed back until after the next election in 2015 amid disagreements within the coalition.
The existing submarines are due to be taken out of service in 2028.
The Lib Dems have long argued that the projected £20bn cost of building new submarines and ensuring that at least one is on patrol at any time - known as continuous at-sea deterrence - is too high and other options should be considered.
The Conservatives and military chiefs support Trident's renewal, believing it is the best guarantee of security for the UK.
Q&A: Trident replacement
When they entered government in 2010, the coalition partners agreed to a "value for money" review of Trident examining the cost of possible alternatives - overseen since last year by Lib Dem cabinet minister Danny Alexander.
According to the FT, the review - likely to be published before the end of July - is likely to reject alternative delivery mechanisms such as a land-based or airborne missile system.
The former would be deemed impractical, the paper said, as it would leave the UK unable to mount a meaningful response in the event of a nuclear attack while the latter would require a completely new aircraft which would be more costly.
The FT said the report would also cast doubt on the feasibility of using other submarines - such as the Astute Class due to come into service in the near future - to carry the nuclear missiles.
Conservatives have warned that this approach would mean an entirely new missile having to be designed.
But the newspaper said the report may float the idea of reducing the number of submarines from the current four to three or even cutting this back to two.
It quoted sources with knowledge of the report suggesting this could save at least £5bn in upfront design costs and £1bn in annual expenditure on crewing and maintenance per submarine.
Professor Malcolm Chalmers, research director at the Royal United Services Institute, said it was the "working assumption" in Whitehall that Trident would continue to operate off four submarines but the question of whether this could be reduced to three had always been "left open".
Any suggestion, he added, that the UK could maintain an effective deterrent with two submarines would be entirely new and would spark a debate going into the next election about whether a continuous at-sea presence was needed.
The review will not have any direct impact on the policy of the coalition government, which affirmed its commitment to Trident in its programme for government in 2010.
But it will inform debate on spending priorities going forward and on Lib Dem policy in the run-up to the next election.
A Lib Dem spokeswoman said the review had yet to be published but the party was "still looking at alternatives".
Prof Chalmers said the Lib Dems had never before spelled out in detail what the alternative should be and maintaining the current system, but with fewer submarines and at a lower cost, could be a potential way forward for them politically.
"If the leaks are correct, what it would suggest is that the Lib Dems would be getting closer to having an alternative of their own," he said. "They would have an actual policy rather than simply saying they do not agree with the current policy."
The Cabinet Office said it would not comment on speculation about what may or may not be in the report.
"No date has been set for the review but we still expect to report to the prime minister and the deputy prime minister in the first half of 2013," a spokesman said.
Labour, which backed renewal of Trident while in government, says it is committed to retaining an independent nuclear weapons system although it is prepared to look at options to do this in a way that reduces the burden to the taxpayer.


A "simple" house which runs on the equivalent of a 40W light bulb at a cost of £15 a year has won a national energy award.

The £240,000 four-bedroom Passivhaus in West Kirby, Wirral, was built of insulated masonry and concrete.
It features triple-glazing, LED lighting and an air-source heat pump.
Owner Colin Usher said being honoured by the Buildings and Energy Efficiency Awards "dispels the myth" eco homes are "expensive and radically different".
Passivhaus, which mean passive house, is an ultra-low energy design standard for homes developed in Germany in the 1980s and 90s.
About 37,000 homes have been built to the standard across the world according to the Passivhaus Trust, an organisation for the movement in the UK.
Mr Usher, who is a director at Liverpool's John McCall Architects, designed the house for himself and his wife. He said it was "very comfortable to live in and its appearance is not incongruous with surrounding houses".
It has been orientated so the windows and solar panels on the roof receive the optimum amount of sunlight and features high ceilings, carefully positioned glass and large spaces to let the most natural light and heat in.
Mr Usher and his wife have lived in the property for two years and the cost for heating, lighting, hot water and cooking was "just £15 per annum", he said.
"This is a simple building and, in effect, runs on the same amount of power used by a 40W light bulb."
An equivalent property his firm recently designed to meet normal building regulations cost about £1,800 a year to heat, he said, adding that data showed his home was performing "almost four times better than the Passivhaus standard it was targeting".


The historic Scots steamship, TS Queen Mary, is to be berthed permanently on the River Clyde in Glasgow.

The ship returned to the city for the first time since 1977 in November last year and is undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment.
It had a temporary berth outside the Glasgow Science Centre, but this has now been confirmed as permanent.
The Friends of TS Queen Mary are still hoping to raise Â£700,000 to fully fund the restoration.
The group of trustees, who rescued the vessel from scrap in 2016, has already raised Â£1.3m for the refurbishment.
TS Queen Mary, which was built in Dumbarton in the 1930 and is one of the oldest Clyde-built steamers, spent 40 years taking up to 2,000 people at a time for excursions "Doon the watter".
Dr Stephen Breslin, chief executive of Glasgow Science Centre, said he was "delighted" to have the TS Queen Mary as a permanent neighbour.
"Shipbuilding is an intrinsic part of Glasgow's heritage and we are excited to be working with Friends of the Queen Mary to celebrate and engage people with the social and engineering history of this iconic vessel and shipbuilding on the Clyde.
"As well being a unique visitor attraction and events space, the ship will also be a platform for inspiring new generations of future engineers and mariners."
The charity hopes the vessel will welcome 150,000 visitors and students each year once it has been restored.
Charity trustee Iain Sim said: "TS Queen Mary is the last her kind in the world.
"She is woven into Glasgow's rich social fabric and she represents the best of Scottish engineering.
"We are delighted that she will be berthed permanently at Glasgow Science Centre as a heritage destination and education/training centre."
Glasgow Southside MSP Nicola Sturgeon has also welcomed the news that the ship will be allowed to stay permanently on the River Clyde.
She added: "The restoration will bring a major benefit not only in the form of visitors but in giving students unique hands-on experience.
"It's a very fitting addition to the Clyde and I look forward to visiting over the years to come."


Two members of a cult in China have been executed for murdering a woman in a McDonald's restaurant in Shandong, according to a local court.

Zhang Lidong and his daughter Zhang Fan were members of the banned Church of the Almighty God cult.
They were part of a group who attempted to recruit the 35-year-old victim, Wu Shuoyan, in the restaurant in the town of Zhaoyuan in May 2014.
When she refused to give her phone number, they beat her to death.
The Shandong Yantai Intermediate People's Court announced the Zhangs' execution on its Weibo account (in Chinese) on Monday morning, noting that the father and daughter had "committed murder and used a cult to intentionally break the law".
The group was found guilty in October last year. Three others were give jail sentences ranging from seven years to life imprisonment.
The court's statement said that Zhang Fan had asked Ms Wu for her contact details twice. When the victim refused, the group believed that she was "possessed by an evil spirit", and Zhang Fan threw a chair at her.
The rest of the group joined in the attack and beat her with mops brought by Zhang Lidong, who also stamped on Ms Wu's head and face. She died at the scene from her injuries.
Zhang Lidong said in an interview later that he believed Ms Wu was a demon and that "we had to destroy her".
Since the killing, which sparked public outrage, the Chinese authorities have detained hundreds of members of the cult.
The cult's core belief is that God has returned to earth as a Chinese woman to wreak the apocalypse. The only person who claims direct contact with this god is a former physics teacher, Zhao Weishan, who founded the cult 25 years ago and has since fled to the United States.
It claims on its website that it has millions of followers and says nearly 400,000 have been arrested between 2011 and 2014.


Labour MPs who defied the leadership over the government's Welfare Bill have undermined the party's attempts to regain power, its work and pensions spokesman says.

Stephen Timms said the 18 new MPs who were among the 48 rebels should focus on supporting the party.
The Commons backed the Welfare Reform and Work Bill by 308 to 124 votes.
Former Labour home secretary David Blunkett said the party was suffering post-election "emotional trauma".
The SNP said it was "disgraceful" that Labour had not joined it in opposing the bill.
Labour had told its MPs to abstain on the bill, which includes plans to limit child tax credit to two children.
Rebels included leadership hopeful Jeremy Corbyn and London mayoral candidates Sadiq Khan and David Lammy.
First Harriet Harman took a stand - saying Labour had to wake up and listen to voters on welfare.
Then she compromised - tabling an amendment designed to sidestep a row. And then almost 50 rebels ignored her instructions.
Were she Labour's permanent leader, her authority would be in tatters.
But it's not about her; she'll be gone by the autumn.
The real question is: could any of her would-be successors persuade the party that welfare must be reformed now?
Would they want, or dare, to try?
Read the full article
Mr Timms told BBC Radio London the rebellion was "smaller than quite a lot of people expected", and included a number of MPs who regularly defy the party whip.
He added: "There were also a number of newer members who broke the whip and I hope as we go into the summer recess they will conclude that they really want to be supporting our party's efforts to replace the current government rather than undermining them."
But one of the new-intake rebels, Cardiff Central MP Jo Stevens, told BBC News she did not agree, saying the bill, which include £12bn in welfare cuts, was focusing on working families.
She said she did not criticise any of her colleagues for the way they had voted but that there "may be a new approach" when a new leader is in place in September.
Apart from Mr Corbyn, all the leadership contenders - Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall - followed Ms Harman's lead and abstained.
Ms Stevens said they had "no choice" as they were bound by collective responsibility.
Ms Harman has faced criticism for her stance, with many MPs saying she should have been more outspoken in her opposition to curbs on child tax credits and cuts to other in-work benefits.
A Labour amendment seeking to derail the legislation was defeated by 308 votes to 208.
Mr Corbyn  denied he was fuelling a split in the Labour Party, saying the revolt had "strengthened" Labour's position against the Conservatives.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme society ought to be "deeply concerned" about  child poverty and deprivation levels.
During a five-hour debate, Labour MP John McDonnell said he would "swim through vomit" to oppose the legislation.
Reacting to the vote, Labour MP Diane Abbott tweeted: "Just voted against Tory welfare bill. Sorry for colleagues who knew it was wrong but abstained. We weren't sent to Parliament to abstain."
Conservative MP and chief secretary to the Treasury Greg Hands tweeted: "47 Labour rebels on welfare tonight. Huge. Biggest Labour rebellion for some time. Leadership crisis without actually having a Leader!"
Mr Blunkett, who also served as work and pensions secretary, said the party was in "emotional trauma", and was "not debating enough about where we go from here".
"Last night again focused on us being divided," he said, adding that the Welfare Bill was "clearly not a moment for setting out the alternative".
MPs who won their seats in May were "very lucky" and should ask themselves "why others didn't", he added.
The bill, which also seeks to lower the overall household benefit cap from £26,000 a year to £20,000 outside of London, and £23,000 in London, as well as to train a further three million apprentices, has now cleared its first parliamentary hurdle and will move on to more detailed scrutiny.
In a passionate debate, Conservative MPs lined up to support the measures.
As well as Labour MPs who did not support the bill, it was opposed by the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Greens.
SNP employment spokeswoman Hannah Bardell said: "Labour had the perfect opportunity to join the SNP in a progressive coalition to oppose the Tories - but with some honourable exceptions they sat on their hands."
On Twitter, SNP MP Pete Wishart said it was "apparent" that Labour and the SNP together could have defeated the bill.
Tim Farron, in his first Commons speech as Liberal Democrat leader, said his party was voting against the "unfair, unwise and inhuman" proposals.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said Labour was beset by "internal fear and loathing" and that the bill would put welfare funding on a "more sustainable footing" while protecting those most in need.
Speaking after the vote, he said: "Nearly 50 Labour MPs have defied their leadership and opposed our welfare reforms which will move our country from a low wage, high tax and high welfare economy to a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society.
"It's clear that Labour are still the same old anti-worker party - just offering more welfare, more borrowing and more taxes."
Abbott, Diane - Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Abrahams, Debbie - Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth
Ahmed-Sheikh, Tasmina - SNP MP for Ochil and South Perthshire
Anderson, David - Labour MP for Blaydon
Arkless, Richard - SNP MP for Dumfries and Galloway
Bardell, Hannah - SNP MP for Livingston
Black, Mhairi - SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South
Blackford, Ian - SNP MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber
Blackman, Kirsty - SNP MP for Aberdeen North
Boswell, Philip - SNP MP for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
Brake, Tom - Lib Dem MP for Carshalton and Wallington
Brock, Deidre - SNP MP for Edinburgh North and Leith
Brown, Alan - SNP MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun
Burgon, Richard - Labour MP for Leeds East
Butler, Dawn - Labour MP for Brent Central
Cameron, Dr Lisa - SNP MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
Campbell, Gregory - DUP MP for East Londonderry
Carmichael, Alistair - Lib Dem MP for Orkney and Shetland
Chapman, Douglas - SNP MP for Dunfermline and West Fife
Cherry, Joanna - SNP MP for Edinburgh South West
Clegg, Nick - Lib Dem MP for Sheffield Hallam
Clwyd, Ann - Labour MP for Cynon Valley
Corbyn, Jeremy - Labour MP for Islington North
Cowan, Ronnie - SNP MP for Inverclyde
Crawley, Angela - SNP MP for Lanark and Hamilton East
Davies, Geraint - Labour MP for Swansea West
Day, Martyn - SNP MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Docherty, Martin John - SNP MP for West Dunbartonshire
Dodds, Nigel - DUP MP for Belfast North
Donaldson, Jeffrey M - DUP MP for Lagan Valley
Donaldson, Stuart - SNP MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
Dowd, Peter - Labour MP for Bootle
Durkan, Mark - SDLP MP for Foyle
Edwards, Jonathan - Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
Farron, Tim - Lib Dem MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale
Fellows, Marion - SNP MP for Motherwell and Wishaw
Ferrier, Margaret - SNP MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West
Flynn, Paul - Labour MP for Newport West
Gethins, Stephen - SNP MP for North East Fife
Gibson, Patricia - SNP MP for North Ayrshire and Arran
Glindon, Mary - Labour MP for North Tyneside
Godsiff, Roger - Labour MP for Birmingham, Hall Green
Goodman, Helen - Labour MP for Bishop Auckland
Grady, Patrick - SNP MP for Glasgow North
Grant, Peter - SNP MP for Glenrothes
Gray, Neil - SNP MP for Airdrie and Shotts
Greenwood, Margaret - Labour MP for Wirral West
Haigh, Louise - Labour MP for Sheffield, Heeley
Harris, Carolyn - Labour MP for Swansea East
Hayman, Sue - Labour MP for Workington
Hendry, Drew - SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
Hosie, Stewart - SNP MP for Dundee East
Hussain, Imran - Labour MP for Bradford East
Jones, Gerald - Labour MP for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
Jones, Helen - Labour MP for Warrington North
Kaufman, Sir Gerald - Labour MP for Manchester Gorton
Kerevan, George - SNP MP for East Lothian
Kerr, Calum - SNP MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
Khan, Sadiq - Labour MP for Tooting
Kinahan, Danny - UUP MP for South Antrim
Lamb, Norman - Lib Dem MP for North Norfolk
Lammy, David - Labour MP for Tottenham
Lavery, Ian - Labour MP for Wansbeck
Law, Chris - SNP MP for Dundee West
Lewis, Clive - Labour MP for Norwich South
Long Bailey, Rebecca - Labour MP for Salford and Eccles
Lucas, Caroline - Green MP for Brighton, Pavilion
MacNeil, Angus Brendan - SNP MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar
Marris, Rob - Labour MP for Wolverhampton South West
Maskell, Rachael - Labour MP for York Central
Mc Nally, John - SNP MP for Falkirk
McCaig, Callum - SNP MP for Aberdeen South
McDonald, Andy - Labour MP for Middlesbrough
McDonald, Stewart - SNP MP for Glasgow South
McDonald, Stuart C - SNP MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
McDonnell, Dr Alasdair - SDLP MP for Belfast South
McDonnell, John - Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington
McGarry, Natalie - SNP MP for Glasgow East
McInnes, Liz - Labour MP for Heywood and Middleton
McLaughlin, Anne - SNP MP for Glasgow North East
Meacher, Michael - Labour MP for Oldham West and Royton
Mearns, Ian - Labour MP for Gateshead
Monaghan, Carol - SNP MP for Glasgow North West
Monaghan, Dr Paul - SNP MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Moon, Madeleine - Labour MP for Bridgend
Morris, Grahame M - Labour MP for Easington
Mulholland, Greg - Lib Dem MP for Leeds North West
Mullin, Roger - SNP MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
Newlands, Gavin - SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North
Nicolson, John - SNP MP for East Dunbartonshire
O'Hara, Brendan - SNP MP for Argyll and Bute
Osamor, Kate - Labour MP for Edmonton
Oswald, Kirsten - SNP MP for East Renfrewshire
Paisley, Ian - DUP MP for North Antrim
Paterson, Steven - SNP MP for Stirling
Pearce, Teresa - Labour MP for Erith and Thamesmead
Pugh, John - Lib Dem MP for Southport
Rimmer, Marie - Labour MP for St Helens South and Whiston
Ritchie, Margaret - SDLP MP for South Down
Robertson, Angus - SNP MP for Moray
Salmond, Alex - SNP MP for Gordon
Saville Roberts, Liz - Plaid Cymru MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Shannon, Jim - DUP MP for Strangford
Sheppard, Tommy - SNP MP for Edinburgh East
Sherriff, Paula - Labour MP for Dewsbury
Siddiq, Tulip - Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn
Skinner, Dennis - Labour MP for Bolsover
Smith, Cat - Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood
Stephens, Chris - SNP MP for Glasgow South West
Stevens, Jo - Labour MP for Cardiff Central
Stringer, Graham - Labour MP for Blackley and Broughton
Thewliss, Alison - SNP MP for Glasgow Central
Thomson, Michelle - SNP MP for Edinburgh West
Weir, Mike - SNP MP for Angus
Whiteford, Dr Eilidh - SNP MP for Banff and Buchan
Whitford, Dr Philippa - SNP MP for Central Ayrshire
Williams, Hywel - Plaid Cymru MP for Argon
Williams, Mr Mark - Lib Dem MP for Ceredigion
Wilson, Corri - SNP MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock
Wilson, Sammy - DUP MP for East Antrim
Winnick, David - Labour MP for Walsall North
Wishart, Pete - SNP MP for Perth and North Perthshire
Wright, Iain - Labour MP for Hartlepool
Zeichner, Daniel - Labour MP for Cambridge


France snatched a dramatic and controversial Six Nations win over Wales in an extraordinary encounter.

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Trailing by five points with the clock ticking past 100 minutes, Damien Chouly drove over from close range and Camille Lopez's conversion clinched the win.
Leigh Halfpenny had kicked six penalties - three from 50 metres-plus - to cancel Remi Lamerat's early try.
But the match will live long in the memory for the 20-minute added-time barrage on the Wales line.
Referee Wayne Barnes issued a yellow card to Samson Lee in the 82nd minute and had to deal with a claim of biting on Wales wing George North in the face of a tumultuous home crowd at the Stade de France.
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The television match official Peter Fitzgibbon could not find any clear footage so the game was allowed to continue.
Barnes also allowed France to replace tight-head prop Uini Atonio with Rabah Slimani who had earlier been replaced, with the France team doctor insisting Atonio needed a head injury assessment.
Lee had returned to bring Wales back up to 15 men before Chouly claimed the decisive score after a series of penalties near the Wales line.
It was a remarkable end to a difficult Six Nations campaign for Wales which sees them finish fifth and with three defeats for the first time since 2010.
France moved onto 14 points and second place before Ireland denied England a Grand Slam in Dublin to finish second behind the visitors.
Rob Howley's Wales finished one place above winless Italy after securing two tournament triumphs - against Italy and Ireland - and following defeats by England and Scotland.
The incredible finale followed what had been a low-key match until the 77th minute, with French indiscipline allowing the immaculate Halfpenny to wipe out an early 10-point deficit with a flawless display of place-kicking.
But Wales rarely threatened the French line, and struggled throughout at the scrum.
They were also hampered by injuries to second rows Alun Wyn Jones and Jake Ball, with Taulupe Faletau pressed into duty in the boiler house and replacement hooker Scott Baldwin playing in the back row.
For their part, France's forward dominance eventually paid dividends with the immaculate Louis Picamoles and Kevin Gourdon carrying powerfully.
And Wales flanker Sam Warburton will no doubt regret the rush of blood to the head which saw him kicking the ball long downfield after turning over possession during a France attack.
The ball went from Wales' 10-metre line and over the French dead-ball line - allowing the home team to set up the bridgehead which eventually led to their winning score.
France started brilliantly and were ahead within seven minutes when Lopez chipped the ball over the onrushing defence for Lamerat to beat his team-mate Gael Fickou to the ball and touch down.
Lopez increased the lead to 10 points before referee Barnes intervened to send Virimi Vakatawa to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock on.
Halfpenny's angled penalty calmed Wales nerves and by half-time the full-back had struck twice more - one from more than 50 metres - and the French were left wondering how their dominance had resulted in just a one-point interval lead.
After the break Halfpenny drilled two long-range kicks to give Wales a five point lead, which he then restored after Lopez kicked one of his own.
But that was before arguably the most thrilling, nerve-shredding, energy-sapping finish in the tournament's history.
France: Dulin; Nakaitaci, Lamerat, Fickou, Vakatawa; Lopez, Serin; Baille, Guirado, Slimani; Vahaamahina, Maestri; Sanconnie, Gourdon, Picamoles.
Replacements: Chat, Atonio, Ben Arous, Le Devedec, Chouly, Dupont, Trinh-Duc, Huget.
Wales: Halfpenny; North, Davies, S Williams, L Williams; Biggar, Webb; Evans, Owens, Francis, Ball, Wyn Jones, Warburton, Tipuric, Moriarty.
Replacements: Baldwin, Smith, Lee, Charteris, Faletau, G Davies, S Davies, Roberts.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Touch judges: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand) and Matthew Carley (England)
TMO: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.


Wales men's hockey team have missed out on the final World Cup qualifying tournament in Johannesburg.

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Zak Jones' side were beaten 4-0 Scotland in the third place play-off at the World League 2 tournament in Belfast.
They had been beaten 3-1 by Ireland in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Wales could qualify for the 2018 Commonwealth Games if they are ranked in the top 10 eligible nations by the end of the season.


Umpire Arnaud Gabas has had surgery to repair a fractured eye socket after he was hit with a ball during Britain's Davis Cup win over Canada last week.

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Canada's Denis Shapovalov struck the ball in anger and hit Gabas during his game with Kyle Edmund, defaulting the match to hand the tie to Great Britain.
The International Tennis Federation said the 17-year-old's actions were "unintentional" but  fined him £5,600.
The ITF says the surgery was successful and Gabas is now recovering at home.
The Davis Cup World Group first-round tie in Ottawa was poised at 2-2, with Edmund leading 6-3 6-4 2-1 in the final match, but Canada's hopes ended when Shapovalov was disqualified.
He later apologised to Frenchman Gabas in the match referee's office and said he was "incredibly ashamed and embarrassed".
Gabas went to Ottawa General Hospital as a precaution, but no damage to the cornea or retina was found. On his return to France he had an X-ray, which revealed a fracture of the orbital bone under his left eye.
"I am now concentrating on rest and rehabilitation so I can be back on court in the near future," said Gabas.


Michael Rankine scored a late winner to earn Guiseley a 2-1 victory over fellow National League strugglers Maidstone.

Simon Walton put the Lions ahead from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute after James Wesolowski was upended in the area.
The visitors, who remain just one place above the relegation zone, equalised with a spot-kick of their own when substitute Bobby-Joe Taylor converted in the 64th minute.
Adam Lockwood's men, unbeaten in seven league games at home, still had time to earn all three points and Rankine buried Will Hatfield's pass seven minutes from time to claim his first goal since October and move Guiseley to within one point of their opponents in the table.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Guiseley 2, Maidstone United 1.
Second Half ends, Guiseley 2, Maidstone United 1.
Goal!  Guiseley 2, Maidstone United 1. Michael Rankine (Guiseley).
Substitution, Maidstone United. James Rogers replaces Reece Prestedge.
Substitution, Guiseley. Joel Logan replaces Jordan Preston.
Goal!  Guiseley 1, Maidstone United 1. Bobby-Joe Taylor (Maidstone United) converts the penalty with a.
Substitution, Maidstone United. Bobby-Joe Taylor replaces Tom Mills.
Jamar Loza (Maidstone United) is shown the yellow card.
James Wesolowski (Guiseley) is shown the yellow card.
Second Half begins Guiseley 1, Maidstone United 0.
First Half ends, Guiseley 1, Maidstone United 0.
Simon Walton (Guiseley) is shown the yellow card.
Goal!  Guiseley 1, Maidstone United 0. Simon Walton (Guiseley) converts the penalty with a.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.


Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has said NHS boss Sir David Nicholson should remain in post.

Sir David has come under pressure to resign as chief executive of the NHS following the public inquiry into the failings at Stafford Hospital.
He was briefly the boss of the Regional Health Authority overseeing the hospital while death rates were high.
Mr Burnham said David Cameron had been right to defend Mr Nicholson and it was "important to see the overall context".
Campaigners have called for Sir David to quit his Â£270,000 post, which he has held for six years, following the public inquiry into the failings.
The Francis Report found abuse and neglect led to the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of patients at the hospital between 2005 and 2008.
Conservative MP Charlotte Leslie has tabled a motion in the House of Commons calling for Sir David to resign because he "had overall responsibility for Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust during the period investigated in the Francis Inquiry".
She is calling for a full investigation into what he knew about what was happening at the time.
Following the publication of the report into the scandal, Prime Minister David Cameron backed Sir David, saying he should not be "made a scapegoat for what went wrong in Mid Staffordshire".
"He has apologised. He has said there are lessons to learn. He wants the NHS to learn them," Mr Cameron said.
Asked about about his view on whether Mr Nicholson should continue in his role, Mr Burnham said: "The prime minister has said what he wants to say on David Nicholson and I think he is right.
"Everyone has got to look at the Francis Report, absorb its findings and take appropriate action and I think everyone has got lessons to learn.
"As far as I could see the report didn't say that anybody knowingly ignored warnings.
"The NHS overall, if you think back to where waiting lists were 10 years ago, where A&E was, the NHS has made big improvements but its not perfect and things sadly go wrong from time to time. I think it is important to see the overall context."


WWF Scotland has released figures it said showed 2015 was a "huge year" for renewable energy.

The environment charity said wind power produced the equivalent of 97% of Scotland's household electricity needs.
The contribution of wind power was calculated to be up by 16% on the previous year.
WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said the use of renewables in Scotland had curbed millions of tonnes of carbon emissions.
The statistics compiled by WWF Scotland from data provided by information service WeatherEnergy indicated that in December, wind power generated in Scotland exceeded household electricity demand by 48%.
The charity has called on all political parties to put forward policies to make Scotland the EU's first fully renewable electricity nation by 2030.
Mr Banks said: "On average, across 2015, wind power generated enough to supply the electrical needs of 97% of Scottish households, with six months where the amount was greater than 100%.
And, in the tens of thousands of Scottish households that have installed solar panels, half or more of their electricity or hot water needs were met from the sun for the most of the year, helping those homes to reduce their reliance on coal, gas, or oil."
He added: "With 2016 being a critical year politically, we'd like to see each of the political parties back policies that would enable Scotland become the EU's first fully renewable electricity nation by 2030."


It's Tuesday night and the Lumen Cafe in Budapest's 8th district is jumping.

In the main room a three piece band called AMP is playing their own brand of experimental jazz - piano, drums, and double bass.
The crowd is mainly young, but there are plenty of greying beards too - including that of the co-owner, Peter Laszlo.
"It's very important for me that this is a community space, as well as a cafe," Peter explains.
The cafe's bar overlooks Kalman Mikszath square, named after a late 19th Century writer and politician. His statue stands in the corner, gazing towards the cafe, as though trying to work out who's playing tonight.
Inside, it's a joyous, lively scene and underlines how far this small business has come since it started in 2008.
Peter had plucked up the courage to quit his job at an advertising agency - only to find himself launching a venture at the precise time a financial storm was about to wreck economies and companies around the globe.
He and three partners stumped up â‚¬15,000 (Â£10,600; $16,000) to get the business off the ground. They steered clear of banks and other institutions to retain their independence.
Somehow Lumen has survived - and even prospered - despite what he describes as excessive bureaucracy.
Peter shakes his head, thinking back.
"I thought having a small cafe would be fun and relaxing - no stress," he says, smiling wryly.
"I had to learn reality is a little bit different. It worked - with a lot of work and sacrifice."
Sentiments every small business owner will recognise. But not every budding entrepreneur has had to go to the same lengths as Peter.
Research led him to a specific coffee roasting machine that met his exacting requirements. There was one drawback: it was a 30-hour drive away in Izmir, Turkey. But he wouldn't let that stand in his way. He made the journey with some friends, no doubt fuelled by copious amounts of coffee.
Getting the roaster back to Budapest took almost twice as long. Red tape at border crossings caused much delay and frustration.
But the effort - and the roaster - has stood him in good stead. Lumen was one of the first cafes in Budapest to import and roast beans.
Peter has built on that reputation to help the business expand into other areas. It now sells craft beers, clothing and stationery. It's even got its own wine wholesale operation.
But music - like the live performance of AMP at the cafe - is an increasingly important part of the business.
"We have a really interesting concert programme going on," Peter explains. Musical styles alternate between modern experimental music and Hungarian folk, he says.
"On the one hand it's progress; on the other hand it's traditional."
Lumen is part of wider change galvanising the city's historic 8th district.
Bullet holes still pock the walls of the nearby Piarist college, where resistance fighters opened fire on Soviet troops in the square below during the 1956 revolution - a revolution that began only two streets away.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the 8th district got left behind when the rest of the inner city grew rapidly. Parts of the 8th gained a reputation for prostitution, hard drugs and violence.
"This was not a very fancy neighbourhood. It was a rather forgotten part of Budapest's  downtown," says Peter.
But the last few years have seen real change in the area - partly thanks to new businesses like Lumen.
"Young families started moving in, taking advantage of the lower property prices," he says.
Now the cafe provides a taste of prosperity in a rapidly changing area.
The next stage in the growth of his business will be to expand the roasting capacity - such is the demand for his ground beans at other cafes.
At the moment, the coffee is roasted at the top of a rickety staircase in a room overlooking the clothes and wine shop. But the next move is to set up a special roasting shop and service for clients.
Lumen seems to be on the cusp of a wave.
But has it made him rich? I pose the question over yet another cup of coffee.
"I'm happy that the business continues to expand, slowly, despite the fact that the economic environment in Hungary is not improving," he says cautiously.
"But I always hope - soon I will be rich!"


Former England forward Louis Deacon has joined the coaching staff at Championship club Moseley.

The 35-year-old returns to the domestic rugby scene 11 months after retiring as a player with a back injury.
The ex-Leicester lock will work with Moseley director of rugby Kevin Maggs, the former Ireland centre, and will concentrate on line-out play.
"We're extremely pleased to get someone with his vast knowledge of the forward game at the highest level," said Maggs.
"In particular, his command of line-out play over 14 years at Leicester will prove invaluable in the club's Championship campaign during the second half of the season."
Midlands-based Moseley, one of England's great rugby clubs in the amateur era, are currently bottom of the Championship and in danger of relegation to National League Division One, having won just three times in 13 games this season.
Louis Deacon made 274 appearances for Leicester Tigers, and helped them win six Premiership finals, two Anglo-Welsh Cups and two Heineken Cups.
He was a member of England's 2011 World Cup Squad in New Zealand, and won 29 caps in total.
Since retiring, he has remained active in rugby as an ambassador for the Matt Hampson Foundation, as well as working as an assistant coach to the Spanish national team.


Highland Council's leader says the success of Team GB at Rio 2016 should inspire plans to build a regional sports hub in Inverness.

A business case for the local authority's proposal has been submitted to the council's finance service.
Councillors agreed last year that an idea for sports hub offering a velodrome and facilities for gymnastics and other sports should be progressed.
Margaret Davidson said the local authority has to be "ambitious".
Team GB finished second overall on the Rio Olympics' medal table, behind the USA and ahead of China.
Scottish members of the team, including cyclist Katie Archibald and tennis player Andy Murray, were among the gold medal successes that helped GB to secure second spot.
Highland Council leader Ms Davidson said: "Olympic medal winners never got anywhere without being ambitious. So let us be ambitious.
"We have ambitious plans for the future of the Highlands and we are right to be ambitious.
"We want to have excellent sports facilities that will be available for all of Highland's young people to perform their best.
"Just look at the wonderful success of Team GB in the Rio Olympics.
"Congratulations to all those involved, particularly our own Stephen Milne scooping a silver medal for swimming and Inverness rower Alan Sinclair's success in coming fourth and narrowly missing a medal."
Ms Davidson added: "In order for our future generations to succeed they need the best possible facilities and opportunities."
She said it was proposed that the sports hub have a velodrome and also facilities for indoor tennis, gymnastics, athletics and judo.
The business case will be considered as part of Highland Council's capital programme review, which will go before councillors in October.
Councillors agreed in March 2015 to progress the plans.
Highland Council, which is working with Sportscotland on the project, agreed funding in September 2015 of up to £150,000 to develop detailed designs and an estimated cost for the hub.
The project did not form part of a major package of funding announced in March this year.
Drew Hendry, SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, told BBC Radio Scotland that he hoped Highland Council would push ahead with the sports hub.
He said he was optimistic that it would eventually be built.


Rangers chairman Dave King has been cleared of committing contempt of court in a legal row with Sports Direct.

Mike Ashley's firm had already failed in an attempt to have Mr King jailed for allegedly breaching a gagging order relating to the club's retail deal.
At the High Court in London, Mr Justice Peter Smith also threw out the contempt of court charge.
A further hearing is pending over Sport Direct's claim that Mr King breached a confidential agreement.
In dismissing the contempt of court charge, Mr Justice Smith said the case should never have been brought and was an abuse of process.
The judge said the "whole proceedings from first to last were designed to intimidate rather than to seek proper sanctions for an alleged breach".
Mr Justice Smith went on: "These kind of muscular tactics of using a threat of committal is something which the courts should deplore."
The judge also ordered Sports Direct to pay Mr King's legal costs on an indemnity basis - the highest scale possible - "as a mark of my disapproval of the way in which the claim was brought".
He also ordered an interim payment to be made to Mr King of Â£70,000 within 14 days.
The judge observed: "It seems to me that SDI (Sports Direct International) regards the committal application as merely another method of enforcing bargains."
The legal battle in London is estimated to have cost about Â£400,000 so far.
The origins of the case go back to the retail agreement which Sports Direct entered into with the club's previous board.
The new board, which was elected last year, has said before that it would like to renegotiate the deal.
Mr Ashley won a court injunction preventing Rangers, and anyone on the new board, from revealing details of the agreement.
Sports Direct had alleged that Mr King breached this injunction during an interview he gave to Sky at his home in South Africa.
The firm claimed Mr King was in contempt of court as during the interview he revealed the existence of a meeting and discussions related to contracts between both parties.
In a submission to the court, Mr King stated that he had no recollection of whether or not he said the words complained of in the Sky Sports interview.
Lawyers for Sports Direct argued the court was entitled to draw inferences against Mr King to the criminal standard required for an individual to be jailed for contempt.
However, Mr Justice Smith dismissed the firm's motion that Mr King should be jailed, at a hearing in December.
The judge has now formally dismissed the contempt of court charge, though a further hearing will take place next month to determine whether there has been a breach of confidentiality by Mr King.


Leicester City full-back Ben Chilwell has signed a new five-year deal.

The 19-year-old is yet to make his league debut for the Premier League champions but was linked with a move to Liverpool this summer.
The England Under-21 international made eight appearances during a loan spell with Huddersfield Town last season.
"It's fantastic news for us. Ben is a player with a big future and I am very happy that future will be here," boss Claudio Ranieri told the club website.
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James Norwood scored twice to give fourth-placed Tranmere Rovers victory at bottom-of-the-table side Kidderminster Harriers.

Norwood grabbed his 16th of the season when he controlled Matt Hill's long ball before firing past Max O'Leary.
Kelvin Langmead, Lewis Kinsella and Elton Ngwatala all had chances to level for the hosts but were unable to beat visiting keeper Scott Davies.
Norwood secured the win in second-half injury-time with a good finish.


A dog owner has admitted ordering her Staffordshire bull terrier to attack another woman in Peterhead.

Vickilee Galloway, 37, set her dog on Stacey Findlay after the two women started arguing in February last year.
Part of Ms Findlay's ear was torn off. A man was also attacked.
Galloway admitted assault by inciting her pet to attack Ms Findlay. Sentence at the High Court in Aberdeen was deferred, and she was remanded in custody.
She also pled guilty to being the owner of a dog that was so dangerously out of control that it attacked Brian Pennie.
Both victims had parts of their ears missing and needed hospital treatment.
Advocate depute Gillian Ross told the court that the incident happened after Galloway fell out with Ms Findlay while drinking in Mr Pennie's flat.
She said: "The accused started telling the complainer that her name was not in fact Stacey."
Ms Ross said Galloway then told her pet dog Jake to attack the other woman.
She told the court: "She used the words 'get her', 'Jake attack', or something similar.
"She was bitten on the arm which caused her to fall to the ground.
"The dog then started biting and attacking her left ear."
Galloway eventually managed to get the dog under control by grabbing his collar after it injured Mr Pennie and an ambulance was called.
Galloway sobbed in the dock as Lord Kinclaven remanded her in custody.
Sentence was deferred until 5 October at the High Court in Edinburgh for background reports.


Substitute Rudy Gestede scored on his first competitive Aston Villa outing as Bournemouth were left to rue missed chances on their Premier League debut.

Gestede, signed for £6m from Blackburn, powered in a header 13 minutes after replacing fellow new boy Jordan Ayew.
In front of a packed and excited home crowd, Dan Gosling fired over from 12 yards, and Callum Wilson and Marc Pugh saw shots saved before the break.
They were costly misses as Villa struck and comfortably defended the lead.
Having come close to extinction as a club twice in their recent history, some Bournemouth fans will claim their side have seen more important days but there was tangible excitement at the Vitality Stadium as the club tasted Premier League football for the first time.
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Their tiny ground should have erupted in the opening period, most notably when Pugh wasted a glorious chance on the stroke of half-time.
The winger smashed an effort into the ground from 12 yards, allowing Brad Guzan to save at a time which would have posed a lacklustre Villa serious questions.
Instead, it is Eddie Howe left searching for answers. But the confidence with which his side played will give him encouragement - they held 58% of possession - ahead their next game at Anfield.
More threat in the final third may be a desire, but the introduction of summer signing Max Gradel from the bench shows options are available.
Tim Sherwood gave debuts to six summer signings as he embarks on his first full campaign in charge of a team.
Perhaps his half-time words were behind the improvement as his side re-emerged quicker into the tackle and more threatening - notably when debutant Idrissa Gueye drew a fine save from Artur Boruc.
Sherwood has sought a presence up front to replace the 42 goals Christian Benteke contributed in his 89 league games, and in 6ft 4in Gestede, he has a player who contributed defensively from set pieces late on having already delivered the game's telling moment.
This was far from a free-flowing, transformed Villa, but they stuck to their task doggedly and maybe things are turning as a goal from a substitute was a luxury which did not arrive once last season but took just 72 minutes in this campaign.
Villa must improve on consecutive finishes of 16th, 15th, 15th and 17th if Sherwood is to back up his early promise as a manager but in making decisions at key times, he showed terrific instincts on the opening day.
With half a dozen players new to the league - including the disappointing Jordan Ayew - it was perhaps understandable Villa felt their way into the fixture.
Howe's side were threatening from the right flank in the opening period but as Gueye and left-back Jordan Amavi grew into the game, Villa's left-side stiffened up.
They were the most prominent away players on show, with Gueye's 74 touches only bettered by Amavi on 76 as the French full-back tackled ferociously and positioned himself well to ensure Villa won the battle down that key flank.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "I felt we dominated, especially possession and chances in the first half. If you're not clinical enough in their box and a player like Gestede comes on, you're in trouble. The chances will come at a premium this year and we need to take them.
"It was a great day for the football club regardless of the result. It's just a shame we couldn't back it up with the result, but I thought the performance was there."
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Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood: "I thought we were slow in the first period but we set out to nullify them and try to quieten this carnival atmosphere.
"Rudy hasn't trained an awful lot, but we knew he would give us a different dimension. We worked very hard to bring him to this football club so we're delighted - and that's a victory for the people behind the scenes at the club."
Brought in at a reported £7.7m from Nice, Jordan Amavi should answer plenty of questions at left-back where Villa have tried out the likes of Alan Hutton and Aly Cissokho in recent times.
At just 21, the France Under-21s international looked comfortable in the English game and prioritised his defensive duties over surging forward, winning 10 of his 15 duels.
Match ends, Bournemouth 0, Aston Villa 1.
Second Half ends, Bournemouth 0, Aston Villa 1.
Corner,  Bournemouth. Conceded by Ciaran Clark.
Max Gradel (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa).
Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Tommy Elphick (Bournemouth).
Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Yann Kermorgant (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Carlos Sánchez (Aston Villa).
Substitution, Bournemouth. Eunan O'Kane replaces Dan Gosling.
Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa).
Attempt missed. Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Andrew Surman.
Attempt saved. Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Micah Richards.
Dan Gosling (Bournemouth) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Dan Gosling (Bournemouth).
Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Kieran Richardson replaces Scott Sinclair.
Foul by Callum Wilson (Bournemouth).
Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Andrew Surman (Bournemouth) left footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the left following a set piece situation.
Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Simon Francis (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa).
Max Gradel (Bournemouth) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Leandro Bacuna (Aston Villa).
Goal!  Bournemouth 0, Aston Villa 1. Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa) header from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ashley Westwood with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  Aston Villa. Conceded by Tommy Elphick.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Carlos Sánchez replaces Jordan Veretout.
Substitution, Bournemouth. Max Gradel replaces Marc Pugh.
Attempt missed. Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt blocked. Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Andrew Surman (Bournemouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa).
Corner,  Bournemouth. Conceded by Leandro Bacuna.
Attempt blocked. Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Simon Francis.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Dan Gosling (Bournemouth) because of an injury.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Rudy Gestede replaces Jordan Ayew.


The Army has stepped in to help pupils whose school has been damaged in the recent storms.

Makeshift classrooms have been set up at Weeton Barracks while repairs are made to nearby Weeton Primary School.
The Lancashire school, hit during Storm Abigail last week, was told it would not be fit for purpose during Storm Barney. Winds peaked at 85mph on Tuesday before subsiding overnight.
About 30 soldiers helped staff and pupils move to their barracks.
The school's head teacher, Anthony Goth, praised the Army for its help.
"They were very efficient," he said. "It was very exciting - the children came into the yard as normal, and then they were frogmarched across. They thought it was great."
Storm Abigail caused widespread damage last week, leaving more than 20,000 homes without power and forcing schools to close in several parts of the UK.


A major redevelopment of Glasgow's Queen Street Station has been given formal approval.

The work will include provision for longer trains and capacity for the station to handle increased passenger numbers.
Scottish ministers have signed a Transport and Works Scotland (Taws) order to allow the "major facelift" to go ahead.
Work at the station will cost more than £100m and should be completed by 2019.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: "The Scottish government is delivering the most ambitious programme of rail investment ever seen in Scotland, committing over £5bn across the current funding period.
"Approval of this Taws Order allows Network Rail to undertake significant enhancements to Glasgow Queen Street Station.
"This continued investment in our key rail hubs will not only accommodate longer trains and the future growth in passenger numbers, it will also improve the overall service experience."
He added: "Coupled with new longer, faster, greener Class 385 trains coming later this year and a full fleet refurbishment, we are doing what we can now to deliver a Scottish rail industry for the future, one which encourages even more people opt to get out their cars and onto trains."
Queen Street handles 20 million passengers a year.
Network Rail said the revamp was needed to meet predicted growth to 28 million passengers by 2030.
There will be a number of major new developments at the station and surrounding areas, including an extension of the east side of the building into the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre.
The current entrance will also be replaced with a 500 sq m glass facade.
The project is part of the Scottish government's £650m Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), which aims to reduce journey times and increase capacity on Scotland's main rail routes.


Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy is to resign next month, he has announced.

It comes despite Mr Murphy narrowly surviving a vote of no confidence at a meeting of the party's national executive in Glasgow.
Mr Murphy said he would tender his resignation alongside a plan to reform the party.
He lost his seat in last week's general election as the SNP won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats, leaving Labour with a single MP in Scotland.
Mr Murphy said he wanted to have a successor as leader in place by the summer, and confirmed he would not be standing for a seat at the Scottish Parliament in next year's election.
Instead, he said it was time to "do something else" and that he believed the party would continue to be divided if he remained as leader.
His deputy, Kezia Dugdale MSP, will become acting leader until a permanent successor is found.
Mr Murphy had faced calls to resign from several MSPs, trade unions and former MPs in the wake of his party's near wipeout at the general election.
He insisted he had decided to stand down ahead of the national executive voting by 17-14 in favour of him staying in the job.
Speaking at a media conference after the national executive meeting, he said: "It is clear that a small minority who didn't accept my election as leader of the Scottish Labour Party just five months ago won't accept the vote of the executive today and that will continue to divide the party.
"Today I received more support in the executive vote than I did from members of the executive when I stood for election five months ago."
He said it would be up to the executive whether to accept the reforms he would be proposing before he left the post.
But he warned: "A party in such urgent need of reform blocks those changes at its peril."
The former East Renfrewshire MP said Labour had been crushed between "two nationalisms" in Scotland and England.
Mr Murphy said he left no legacy of bitterness for anyone in the Labour Party, and the only person he was angry at was the person who blamed Scottish Labour for the party's UK-wide general election defeat - a reference to Unite leader Len McCluskey.
And he said that in many ways Scottish Labour was the "least modernised part of the Labour movement" and that he wanted his successor to be elected under a one member, one vote system.
Mr Murphy added: "The Labour Party's problem is not the link with trade unions, or even the relationship with Unite members - far from it. It is the destructive behaviour of one high profile trade unionist.
"The leader of the Scottish Labour Party doesn't serve at the grace of Len McCluskey, and the next leader of the UK Labour Party should not be picked by Len McCluskey."
Mr McCluskey has been a vocal critic of Mr Murphy's leadership and opposed his appointment in December when Mr Murphy won the contest to replace Johann Lamont.
Jim Murphy laughed and joked with Scottish Labour's sole MP as he made his way down the hotel corridor to announce his resignation.
He certainly brought energy and dynamism to his election campaign - but all that achieved was Ian Murray in Edinburgh South.
So as Mr Murphy bows out, who could replace him?
The deputy leader Kezia Dugdale may want to step up or Neil Findlay could try again after challenging last time. Maybe the party's finance spokeswoman Jackie Baillie thinks her steady hand could steer the ship.
Jenny Marra is also often talked about as future face of the party.
Whoever steps into Jim Murphy's red shoes he or she will have to face a difficult 2016 Holyrood election, to put it mildly.
There are also more fundamental questions about how the party can possibly move on as it faces a surging SNP.
Mr Murphy was very much a creature of "New Labour" - but to today's generation that's old Labour.
Party members may start looking for someone with no links to the past, neither a Brownite nor a Blairite. A 'cleanskin' - as the politicos put it - may well help re-connect with voters.
That's a long way from now though - even some of the party's opponents may view this latest train wreck with a modicum of sympathy.
Ms Lamont had resigned after claiming Scottish Labour was treated like a "branch office" by the London-based party leadership.
Mr Murphy concluded his speech by saying: "Scotland needs a strong Labour party; Scotland needs a united Labour party. We have been the greatest force for change in our nation's remarkable history.
"The Scottish Labour party will rise again. It will be under someone else's leadership and I am confident about my party's future."
Harriet Harman MP, acting leader of the UK Labour Party, said it would be for Scottish Labour to choose a new leader.
She added: "As a cabinet minister and leader of his party in Scotland, Jim has been a hugely important figure in the Labour Party. He leaves with the best wishes and thanks of our movement."
Labour peer Lord McConnell, a former Scottish first minister, said the party's problems were "much deeper than one individual and one affiliate".
He said: "We have a disconnect locally and nationally with wider Scottish society.
"We have a problem with our political positioning in the post devolution age where the party particularly at the UK level has never been comfortable with success in the Scottish parliament and has always tried to see things through a UK prism rather than a Scottish prism.
"We need to find a new generation, a new leader, new generation, new ideas, a fresh approach."
In a tweet, Scottish first minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said: "I wish Jim Murphy all the very best for the future. Leadership is not easy and he deserves credit for standing up for what he believes in."
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson also reacted on Twitter, saying: "Jim Murphy announces a managed exit in order to help the party, which is to his credit. But leaves a tough gig for whoever comes next."
The meeting of Scottish Labour's executive was disrupted by protesters who entered the party's headquarters.
Police were called and the protesters, who included persistent anti-austerity activists Sean Clerkin and Piers Doughty-Brown, left the building to protest further from the street outside.
The protesters were calling for Mr Murphy to remain as leader to "finish the job of destroying Scottish Labour".
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said officers had been called and found two protestors on the third floor of the building.
She added: "Both left on police arrival. Advice and assistance was given."


The presiding judge, Nil Nonn, had spent the best part of ninety minutes summarising the evidence against the two defendants, when suddenly he seemed to pick up speed.

He had reached the part of the verdict addressing the defendants' culpability, and with surprising briskness, he said what so many Cambodians had been waiting to hear.
"The trial chamber finds the accused, Nuon Chea, guilty of the  crimes against humanity, or extermination, encompassing murder, political persecution and other inhumane acts, forced transfer, enforced disappearances".
He sentenced both Noun Chea, and Khieu Samphan to life imprisonment.
It has taken 17 years, since Cambodia first requested international help to set up a tribunal, to bring these, the first senior Khmer Rouge leaders, to justice.
The trials have proceeded so slowly there were real doubts over whether any verdicts would be reached while the defendants were still alive.
One of the movement's leaders, Ieng Sary, died last year while on trial. His wife, Ieng Thirith, was declared mentally unfit to be tried the year before. Both Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, in their 80s, are in poor health.
You could almost feel the relief, as sentences were passed, that the two men were still there, alive in the courtroom, to hear them - although Nuon Chea was too weak to stand, and Khieu Samphan appeared to be angry.
"I felt so happy as I heard the verdicts" I was told by Chum Mey, one of only 12 people to survive the notorious Tuol Sleng torture centre in Phnom Penh. "This sentence, for me, was proper justice".
Now also in his 80s, Chum Mey watched his wife and infant son shot dead by Khmer Rouge soldiers. He has given powerful, sometimes tearful testimony to the tribunal about his horrific experiences. He only survived, he said, because, as a mechanic, he was too useful to kill.
Some of the testimony given by hundreds of witnesses in this trial was repeated by the presiding judge in his summary, reminding the court of the catalogue of atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge; the sick and elderly left to die on the march out of Phnom Penh, the body count growing as the march went on; the constant killings and disappearances of those thought to be enemies of the revolution.
He called it a "Joint Criminal Enterprise", and dismissed the defendants' pleas of innocence as "lacking credibility", given their seniority in the movement.
The cumbersome procedures of the court have been widely criticised. They originate in its unusual structure, partly based on international law, partly on Cambodian practices, with a mix of Cambodian and international judges and lawyers.
This was the condition set by the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen for holding the tribunal at all, and it led to years of wrangling with the UN before the first hearings could start in 2006.
The criticisms have not stopped. Two judges resigned after alleged pressure from the Cambodian government not to expand the indictments to lower-ranking Khmer Rouge officials who were thought to be responsible for tens of thousands of deaths.
There is no real independence from political interference in the Cambodian judiciary, and Hun Sen had always said he only wanted four or five people indicted. Earlier, a bribery scandal involving some court officials was exposed. There have been repeated funding crises.
Even the tribunal's staunchest defenders would admit it is a far from perfect solution. Still, just reaching the goal of convicting two of the top leaders of the Khmer Rouge may restore some credibility to the tribunal, even though they will almost certainly be the last to be indicted.
Virak Ou, chairman of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, is one of the many human rights figures who has frequently found fault with the tribunal. His father was murdered by the movement, and he spent his early years with his family in a remote part of western Cambodia, hiding their identity.
Yet, as he sat listening to the verdict, he found himself being overcome with emotion. "It was a powerful moment", he said, "the realisation that finally these two men, whose names I had grown up with, were finally being held to account for all those crimes."
Outside the specially-constructed tribunal building, though, the verdicts attracted little attention. Many people were unaware they were taking place. "We have a pre-Khmer Rouge generation and a post Khmer Rouge generation", says Virak Ou.
"The older generation either don't want to talk about that time, or simply don't understand what happened; remember most of the survivors were not well-educated, as the Khmer Rouge eliminated intellectuals". The younger generation, he says, are taught little in schools, and do not dwell on the past as they focus on the struggle for better jobs and living standards.
Virak is not sure yet what the longer term legacy of the tribunal will be for Cambodia. But he believes future generations will see these verdicts as a watershed, that they may be encouraged to re-examine the terrible years of the Khmer Rouge, perhaps using the huge volumes of documents and testimony gathered by the tribunal, to understand better why they happened.


The PSNI has requested an "immediate, updated threat assessment" of the Stormont Assembly following an incident involving an Irish tricolour.

A tricolour and another nationalist flag appeared on flag poles over Parliament Buildings earlier in June.
DUP MLA Paula Bradley, who sits on the assembly commission, had expressed concern about a claim from a republican group called the 1916 societies.
It indicated they had hoisted the flags over Stormont.
At the assembly on Tuesday, Mrs Bradley asked if the police had made any assessment of the risk within Parliament Buildings.
She asked what "steps have been taken to ensure the safety of the building has not been compromised?"
In response, a PSNI officer writing on behalf of Ch Con George Hamilton said the police were limited in what they could say as a full investigation of the flag incident is currently under way.
However, the PSNI added that "it would be the recommendation of police that a full review of internal security be undertaken under the auspices of the assembly commission".
The letter also stated that Ch Supt Nigel Grimshaw  had "requested an immediate, updated threat assessment in relation to Parliament Buildings and will consider the findings upon receipt".
An assembly investigation into the flying of two unauthorised flags began after the incident, however, was later suspended due to the ongoing police investigation.
Contractors working at Parliament Buildings have been asked for a report by the assembly authorities.
The contractors are working on the site renovating parts of the roof and fourth floor.
The assembly said that the flags were removed as soon as it was made aware of them.