SORRY, STEWART, BUT NEXT WEEK MIGHT NOT BE MUCH BETTER
STEWART REGAN must react to the sight of letters from Peter Lawwell in his in-tray in the way most of us do when final demands from HMRC or a jury summons from the High Court thud through the letterbox.
Yet, there’s another one coming. And it is coming at a time when he is arguably more vulnerable than at any period during his trouble-scarred reign as SFA chief executive.
Criticism over his failure to lure Michael O’Neill from Northern Ireland has seemed rather harsh. The problem is that members of the Tartan Army, calling for his head in press statements, have now turned against him. When you consider supporters of both sides of the Old Firm have long wanted his guts for garters, too, it leaves him rather short of friends.
Now, Celtic are back on his case over an ill-judged — albeit profitable — summer tour of Peru and Mexico. And when Celtic are sending you letters, there is often trouble afoot.
Just look at what happened last September when correspondence over the SFA’s refusal to hold a judicial inquiry into the events that led to the liquidation of Rangers in 2012 was made public.
Regan is in bother and that is unlikely to change should the SFA board let him off the hook over O’Neill on Tuesday.
His time in office deserves to be questioned. There would be few tears if he left, but he is far from the only guilty party.
The SFA remains a flawed organisation, with presidents appointed based on how long they hang around, the shambles that is youth football facing another controversial re-fit and money tighter than ever.
Regan is just a part of all that. The fact remains the whole thing needs torn down and rebuilt.