SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR TV PUNTERS

Deepdale gaffer Neil wants Celts Irish winger as he prepares for an assault on the promotion spots

SCOTTISH football fans could be offered the chance to buy virtual season tickets - as the SPFL close in on a revolutionary new broadcast deal with Sky.

Crisis talks between the league’s chief executive Neil Doncaster and TV bosses have reached an advanced stage as they prepare to begin next season behind closed doors. As part of the discussions, Sky could be willing to write off a potential £5.5m claw back claim for the failure to complete the 2019/20 campaign - with Doncaster attempting to negotiate a greatly reduced penalty sum of £1.5m, with payments spread over the next five years.

The talks have also explored ways that Scotland’s cash strapped clubs might be able to create some sort of vital matchday revenue even although their turnstiles could remain locked for months.

It is believed Sky – who snapped up exclusive SPFL rights for the next five years in a deal worth £150m – accept that allowing matches to be live-streamed could help provide a financial lifeline.

SCOTT BROWN insists intense Celtic’s Ten in a Row focus won’t be wrecked by radical changes to Scottish football’s make-up.

The Parkhead skipper (above) is adamant the troops will deal with any alterations made to the game in the wake of the Covid-19 shutdown as they maintain total focus and concentration on the job. Neil Lennon’s (left) men and the rest of Scotland’s clubs face abnormal circumstances upon resumption due the effects of the pandemic.

In particular, the prospect of empty stadiums in the opening weeks of the campaign is likely to give the game a completely different feel.

Brown admits losing the backing of 60,000 supporters at home and a massive away following will be a setback, but has assured those fans his team will stay in the zone as they start chasing a huge prize.

He said: “When the Bundesliga came back, I watched the first games and I have to admit that it was a little bit weird watching it.

“With the games being behind closed doors, you could hear all of the lads shouting for the ball and things like that. It didn’t feel normal.

“If you watch golf and I do, that’s a sport where people aren’t shouting and singing when the players are playing and you can appreciate that.

“There’s no shouting and cheering in the middle of someone’s swing or anything like that, so it can happen in other sports.

“But it’s different in football. You miss the cheering and the shouting and the way people can push you, especially for us at Celtic Park when 60,000 fans inside there can be the 12th man for us at times.

“They have dug deep for us at times and that has led to us scoring late winners or late equalisers in matches. It’s kind of what football needs. It really needs the supporters.

“But don’t get me wrong, we’d deal with it. We have to deal with whatever situation which faces us.

“It’s not something we haven’t experienced. “Whatever comes and is put towards us, we need to deal with it.”