Good Win, But, The More-Important Games Are To Come

OK, so we beat Malta – (cue Shania Twaine) That don't impress me much. I have to agree with Tom English of the BBC, who, in the build-up to yesterday's game suggested anything less than a Scottish win was a resigning matter for WGS.

But, while sticking five past their keeper and making the Maltese extremely cross – to be fair, more at the Ukrainian referee than us – was great for morale, and going top of the group is a super start, beating Malta doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

Remember, we are in a six-team group, so, in the final group calculations, results over the bottom team, which will almost certainly be Malta, will be discarded. That could be a handy wee life-saver, were we to slip-up back at Hampden, but, how we do against the other four countries is far-more important.

I was, again, deeply unimpressed by England. They are very beatable, trouble is, when we meet them it will not be a technical, highly-skilled match, but an old-fashioned British cup-tie. We are, however, overdue a win over our neighbours, and, if we get the breaks we got in Malta, we could leave the English media spluttering and Big Sam;s jaiket oan a shoogly nail – wonderful.

I still feel, however, until there is a root and branch overhaul of Scottish club football, and a proper plan to take our national team forward, we will always go into games on a wing and a prayer.

THIS week will be full-on, high-octane OldFirmitis, as the only game in town is done to death. Expect the Usual Suspects to be dragged-out to give their particular biased take on the whole shooting match.

I think I will take a week off to allow the hysteria to abate.

ONE of the benefits of having BT broadband is, I get a great deal on BT Sport on TV. This has given me access to the wonderful 30 for 30 series of sports documentaries, produced by ESPN.

I caught one last week about the deluded guy who, with no cash or backing, tried to take-over the NHL's New York Islanders ice hockey team.

Maybe, if someone at the SFA had had access to ESPN, and had seen this film, Craig Whyte would never have got through the door at Ibrox and we would all have been saved an awful lot of pain and aggro.

The would-be ice hockey tycoon, by the way, went to jail, did his time, came out and was then sent back when he tried a similar scam elsewhere.

I WAS reading an interesting piece in the New Yorker this morning – about Danny Cipriani, the wild child of English rugby. The piece included a great quote by “The Great One”, Wayne Gretzky, the Canadian ice-hockey player who is to that great game what Ali is to boxing, Bolt to track and field and Maradona and Pele to football.

Asked why NHL players were so-humble, Wayne said: “Because all the cocky ones get eliminated in the minor leagues”.

Right, let's go back to an apprenticeship in the juniors - for the good of Scottish football.