Sunderland are as weak and wobbly as the PM and Del knew it...he had to stick with strong and stable Dons for fresh fight with Rodgers & Caixinha

McInnes has put his career before cash and staying at Pittodrie shows his faith in resurgent Scottish football

more will follow including Scotland international Graham Dorrans. But in the meantime the manager has been working away behind the closed doors of Auchenhowie and attempting to fit all the parts together.

There is simply no way of knowing until they are out there, operating in full view, if this largely Portu-Mex recruitment drive will work or not.

And to that end Caixinha will also have one eye fixed on UEFA’s HQ in Switzerland this lunchtime where he will find out the identity of the opposition for his new side’s big unveiling.

No, Scottish football’s summers may not be getting any longer, but the events of these past few weeks both at Pittodrie and Ibrox have generated all manner of interest and intrigue ahead of the coming campaign.

By contrast, Celtic have been basking happily in the glory of their undefeated domestic clean sweep. Jonny Hayes has been quietly added to the squad but when Brendan Rodgers goes back to work this morning as a newly-married man he will approach it as if his own honeymoon here in Scotland is over.

The hard, often sweaty work of Champions League qualification is about to begin all over again and Rodgers will want to see his players settle quickly back into last season’s stride.

Also, it remains to be seen what else Celtic’s manager has up his sleeve now he is turning his attention back towards the transfer market, armed with the kind of riches which are likely to dwarf the not insignificant numbers being traded across the Clyde.

All the more reason then for our interest to be peaked. Scottish football has only just been put away for the summer but the next instalment can hardly come quickly enough. place in the Champions League knockout phase must be their ambition.

Xavi, now with Qatari club Al Sadd, also claimed the Hoops must retain top talents like Moussa Dembele while recruiting a couple of signings who have tasted success at the peak of European football.

He said: “With Rodgers as coach and players they now have, Celtic’s ambition should be more than qualifying for the group stage, it should be to make it to the last 16.

“The most important thing is that Celtic keep their big players – Dembele was one of the top forwards in Europe last season and any club must firstly make sure they keep their best players.

“If they want to go up a level in the Champions League they must also look to add some quality.

“Even if it is a loan player from one of the big clubs in England – it’s important they have players who have experience of playing at the highest level.”