The performance of Scottish football needs direction

IT does not take much to beat a Scottish team in Europe these days.

Celtic and Hearts’ respective defeats to minnows from Gibraltar and Malta stand as proof.

There is no excuse. Both clubs should have won the games concerned.

Fortunately, Celtic got through their tie. Hearts, on the other hand, weren’t so lucky.

I just hope our clubs’ European failures aren’t an omen for Scotland’s impending World Cup qualifiers.

Figuring out exactly what it is our players lack compared to their counterparts from the continent – then putting a plan in place to fix it – is a big job.

Unfortunately, it proved too big for Brian McClair (left), who has departed from his role as the SFA’s Performance Director.

It is now absolutely crucial that the Hampden blazers get the right man in the door. Once there, they have to back him to the hilt.

Anything less will be an insult to the man they choose, and to Scottish football at large.

It’s not just our club teams’ European fortunes that are at stake. It’s the future of our national team itself.