OUR GAME NEEDS REMODELLING WITH NEW FACES AT THE HELM

NOW we are getting past the melodramatic claptrap about Covid-19 being an ‘existential threat’ to Scottish football, a clearer picture is emerging.

There is no need for any clubs to die. Rather, this is simply an opportunity to consider the level at which so many of them, specifically those likely to go into mothballs for next term, would be better functioning in future.

As Gordon Strachan, now Dundee’s technical director, suggested this week, the ambitious should be encouraged, but the tail should no longer wag the dog in terms of poorly-resourced teams with no plans for advancement voting on top-end policy.

The great irony, of course, is that we had the SPL from 1998 until 2013, which allowed the bigger clubs to control the money and dictate the direction of travel.

It was flawed from the outset. It got so much wrong. But a sharper, improved model of that is what we ought to investigate when normality has returned.

Scotland is not big enough for 42 senior clubs. It should have maybe 20 — with everyone else finding their own place in the pyramid system.

In considering what SPL v2.0 might consist of, better centralised marketing, increased fan engagement and a drive to create a unique selling point would be the obvious building blocks upon which to attract greater investment.

The SPL lacked all of that and the SPFL, currently with no sponsor in place to take over from Ladbrokes, does not seem to bother either.

Just consider the claim from Hearts chairman Ann Budge that she has ‘philanthropists’ ready to put in serious money, but the SPFL and their £388,000-a-year CEO want her to do all the donkey work herself.

Proof, if needed, that any new league set-up would need new people at the helm as well. Preferably, ones with a bit of actual power and a budget to feed their vision.

Following the toxicity of recent weeks, this could be a chance to start again in improving the elite end of the game.

It would need long-term planning and be difficult with the politics at play.

However, if it can raze what exists to the ground and put something better in place, it is surely worth talking about at least.