Manchester City’s women’s team transformedthemselves within the space of five years from amateurs playing in a regional division to Women’s Super League champs

But the sport’s progress is getting close to its ceiling unless changes are made. Firstly, players in Scotland must be given the opportunity to be full-time. Becoming a full-time athlete does not necessarily guarantee success – there’s plenty of full-time male footballers in Scotland who unequivocally prove this – but elite sport has now reached a stage whereby being full-time is pretty much the minimum requirement. Almost none of Team GB’s Olympians in Rio will have simultaneously trained while working full-time jobs and all of the best women footballers in the world are paid to play, rather than working to subsidise their sport.

This is not to say that women’s teams should be on salaries on a par with men’s – to compare the men’s and women’s game is as futile as comparing apples and tractors – but to suggest that women’s teams are given a small amount of funds in order to make their set-up more professional is hardly outrageous. Down south, Manchester City’s women’s team transformed themselves within the space of five years from an amateur team playing in a regional division to Women’s Super League champions. Yes, the club invested money but it was an almost insignificant amount in comparison to what the men’s team operate with. Why could Celtic not do something similar? The equivalent of Moussa Dembele’s annual salary would fund the entire women’s squad for a year. It’s not much to ask when you consider the impact this kind of investment would have on the sport in Scotland. Greater opportunities at home mean fewer players leaving to play abroad, which strengthens the league exponentially.

Secondly, the women’s game must be given every bit of help possible. For example, the SWPL League Cup final earlier this season between Hibs and Glasgow City was held midweek at Ainslie Park. This almost automatically prevents any young Glasgow City supporters from attending as they would not be back home until almost midnight on a school night. It’s not the way to grow the game.

The progress the women’s game in Scotland has made in recent years is huge. With some small tweaks and slightly greater investment, further improvements will come thick and fast. It says much about football in this country that this hasn’t happened already. If we want to see footballing success in Scotland focusing on the women’s game is the way to do it. TOMORROW Hugh MacDonald