Breathing space in Euro shake-up

THE harsh truth will come when the Access List is out and we discover the exact nature of the hoops of fire the winners of the Scottish Premiership must jump through to make it to the Champions League.

For the moment, though, let us be thankful the ‘Champions Route’ into the tournament proper has been preserved.

Make no mistake, this was under serious threat as negotiations edged towards Friday’s uneasy truce, which will make the rich richer and the rest more fearful.

Peter Lawwell’s role in the European Club Association puts Celtic in a position to use the breathing space now available and plan for the next attempted power grab by the bigger nations.

The Parkhead club, assisted by shirt sponsors Dafabet, have been expanding in China, establishing an academy, building websites and securing a television deal.

It will not have escaped their attention that plans to set up a breakaway European League, had a peace deal not been brokered, were centred there.

The International Champions Cup also maintains useful relationships in America.

Of course, there is also talk of a North Atlantic League coming out of cold storage, too.

Other clubs must now seek to position themselves, with Rangers manager Mark Warburton having stated his belief there may be a World League before long.

Greed within football is rampant. The big beasts will want more of the pie before long and everyone else must find a way to avoid becoming collateral damage. That’s where we are.