LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM IRISH SUCCESS

LEAGUE of Ireland competitions director Fran Gavin believes Scottish football can learn a Euro lesson from their Celtic cousins — and reap similar benefits from switching to summer football. Dundalk reaching the Europa League group stage last season, a feat that has regularly eluded Scottish clubs over recent seasons, raised eyebrows across the Continent. And Gavin says the Irish teams awaiting news of opponents in today’s UEFA draw feel ready for anything having already completed half a league season before a ball is kicked in European competition. ‘In the case of Europe, our league set up definitely helps because our teams are better prepared for competitive action,’ he said. ‘The best clubs in the world can go into Europe without a competitive game under their belt and can be caught out. ‘The current league set up has worked well for us. We started summer football in 2003. Our calendar season is February through to November for the Cup final. ‘In terms of Europe, you’ve seen an advance in our positions and rankings. ‘The draw for Europe is coming up and by the time of the first game we’ll have played nearly 20 competitive matches. ‘So we hit the ground running in terms of those competitions — and that works for us. Our clubs have definitely been helped by the fact they are more competitively ready. ‘I would never tell anybody how to run their league at any time. It suits us, though, that’s all I can say.’ Summer football has long been resisted in Scotland because of fears that crowds would plummet during the traditional holiday weeks. But Gavin said attendances and the experience in Ireland disproves that theory, revealing: ‘Crowds have increased year on year since 2003. A sunny day, with nice pitches, it certainly has benefits for supporters. In our case it has worked on and off the pitch.’