Celtic In Belfast This Week - Let's Hope Their Visit Passes Peacefully

I SUPPOSE, had they been heading for Windsor Park, to take-on Linfield, the Police Services of Scotland and Northern Ireland might have been a trifle concerned at a large contingent of the Celtic family heading for Belfast during this of all weeks. And that would have been before the Belfast branch of Ra Peepul began to get somewhat aerated on Friday night.

But, Cliftonville, in North Belfast, should pass without much in the way of incident - let's hope so. Because, you can rest assured, should even a single Celtic fan, however inadvertently, get himself caught-up in bother, there will be members of the opposition ready to tell the world. Sadly, the Old Firm Fanatics will, like the poor, be always with us - even when there aren't any regular Old Firm matches.

Celtic ought to win in Belfast this week, but, should their indifferent pre-season form continue into this first real match, I have every confidence in matters being put right in the second leg in Glasgow. That's my worst-case scenario.

I MUST admit, competitive football before the Open just doesn't seem right to me. I'm old school, I preferred the good old days, when football ran from August until April, leaving plenty of summer time for summer sports such as tennis, cricket, golf and athletics.

I feel, longer seasons doesn't mean better sport, particularly in football. In fact, I am rapidly coming to the conclusion the least-fit, least-hard-working "professional" sportsmen in the world have to be professional footballers in the United Kingdom.

How, I wonder, would our pampered superstars of the SPFL react to the sort of regimes which Andy Murray, Chris Hoy, Katherine Grainger and the likes have subjected themselves to in pursuit of success?

I can just visualise the reaction of some of our slightly rotund footballers if someone such as Sir David Brailsford of British Cycling, came up and said: as he did to Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and Chris Froome: "OK, you're going to have to change your body shape if you want to be really successful - here's your new eating plan; stick to it".

Our footballers don't work hard enough on their skills, they don't work hard enough on their fitness, and that's one of the reasons why Scotland is regressing in football faster than any other nation.

Of course, the men at the top, the Hampden Blazers, are too-busy feathering their own football nests to put their foot down and make the necessary changes happen, so, the demise will continue.