TIME to do my celebrated David Francey impression: “Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear! Disaster for Scotland.” Or perhaps it would be better to reprise part of one of Chic Murray's lines from his celebrated 'Blackpool Wedding' monologue and say: “the organist played Here We Are Again.”

OK, the Old Fool hasn't lost it again, I am referring to Hibs' 1-2 loss to their unheralded Andorran opponents in Thursday's opening European match of this new season. There is a clip on Facebook of the travelling Leithers' response to this defeat; one which was made perhaps slightly more-tolerable by a 91^st minute Hibs' goal.

Let's just say, a moving rendition of 'Sunshine On Leith' it wasn't. The troops were not amused and making their unhappiness all too clear to the Hibs players as they left the field.

Am I surprised? Not really. Scottish clubs have been doing prat falls in the early rounds of Europe for many years now. You might think the High Heid Yins at the clubs would have cottoned-on to the fact, their management model was faulty and done something lang syne. But no, I reckon we will stumble along, under-achieving with greater regularity for a few years yet.

To quote dear old Craig Brown: “there are no easy international games these days,” and that applies equally if the international game involves a club or national team.

Gaining parity – the first task; then winning the second leg at Easter Road will not, I suspect, be an easy ask.

Still, you reap what you sow; so when you go down the road of signing third and fourth-rate non-Scots, only giving native talent its chance after you have exhausted every other avenue, and totally junked the legacy of The Famous Five, Joe Baker, Pat Stanton and so on – you end up losing to the representatives of a country which has, as one poster noted on Facebook: “a population smaller than a full house at Celtic Park.”

Of course, those thoroughly pissed-off Hibs fans in Andorra, and, can I say, after shelling-out hard-earned cash, in times of real economic hardship, to follow their side to the Pyrennes – they had every right to be angry, are Scottish fans.

We have been raised to believe nations such as Andorra produce “diddy teams” that we, the 21^st century descendants of the Scotch Professors who taught the world the passing game, should be able to beat without breaking sweat.

Recent results in the early qualifying rounds in Europe have surely proved – now, our sides that sneak into the lesser European competitions on the coat tails of the Bigot Brothers, these clubs are not just 'diddy teams' inside the mind of Charles Young Esquire – in Europe, they are 'diddy teams' in their own right.

LOW POINTS in the stellar history of Scottish Football Writing. I can report a late contender for the top ten – Aidan Smith's piece in Saturday's Hoots Mon.

Here young Aidan manages to name-check Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage, suggesting Scottish Fitba's High Heid Yins should consult that pair of numpties on a way to get us out of Europe, in the wake of Hibs' Andorran Apocalypse.

Pay attention Aidan – Scotland's 'diddy teams' such as Hibs, Aberdeen, Motherwell, Kilmarnock, even Rangers some season ago, could have given the Brexiteers lessons on how to exit Europe in the most-embarrassing way possible.

Our clubs have long been “the three-pin plugs” of football - “useless in Europe.”

MEANWHILE, in that other parallel universe, occupied by the Glasgow-based Scottish football media, it's still all about the Bigot brothers, which diddy non-Scottish players they are supposedly buying, while preparing for the Breengers opening European game, next week, against either Servette or Genk.

The Belgians are ranked 137 in UEFA's Club Co-efficient list, while the Swiss are at 201 – lower than Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United, Motherwell, St Johnstone and Kilmarnock. So, a guaranteed win for Rangers, or a potential banana skin? You decide.

By the way, the second round draw – the last 16 - for the Viaplay Cup was made over the weekend. Another question, will it still be known as that by the time the final comes around – or will Viaplay's pull out of the UK market see it renamed?

I WAS AWARE that Scottish Gas have purchased naming rights to Murrayfield, Scotland's largest sports ground, now known as Scottish Gas Murrayfield. However, the news that the same company were now sponsoring the Men's and Women's Scottish Cup passed over my head – probably because I've largely given-up on newspapers and BBC Shortbread.

It's strange to see the early rounds containing stellar Junior Football names such as Auchinleck Talbot, Glenafton Athletic, Irvine Meadow and Hill o' Beath, our game is definitely changing. Tie of the early rounds, either The Glen v Darvel, or Hill o' Beath v Tayport.

My new favourite team name, ok, it may never have the romance of Glenbuck Cherrypickers, but, I do love the idea of Flip the Mindset Women, who will entertain Nairn St Ninian's in the Women's Scottish Cup.

Flip a woman's mindset – how?

LISTENING TO Test Match Special during the lengthy rain break in the afternoon session of the final test at The Oval, I and the other listeners were treated to a wonderful half hour segment, of former England Captain Michael Atherton and his nemesis, Glen McGrath, talking to Jonathan Agnew. The reason for the segment, the fact McGrath has dismissed Atherton 19 times, the greatest success rate in the one v one history of cricket.

OK, I accept that cricket, by its very format, offers greater opportunity for one v one competition, within the framework of a team game. But, how come we never get these sorts of snippets in football comment.

Retired footballers operating in the media tend to be “characters”, more known for funny incidents, and more-often discussing such incidents. We seldom, if ever, get a serious discussion about facets of the game, or, where it is going.

For instance, elsewhere in the TMS coverage of the rain break, we had a group of the pundits selecting the England team for the 2027 Ashes series in England.

Yes, you got that correct – pick an international team to play four year hence. I just wonder what kind of mess the great brains of BBC Shortbread might make, if asked to pre-select the Scotland squad for say the 2026 World Cup. Would they even know the names of the young Scots who might emerge for that campaign?

How many of the current squad would still be there, particularly if Stevie Clarke was no longer leading Scotland?

Fitba coverage in Scotland has been dumbed down considerably in recent years, a fact which has allowed the stumble bums running our game to get away with murder.

It really is time for our mainstream media to get serious about the game.

FINALLY, Congratulations to one of the Best Guys ever to sit in a press box. I refer to the great Roddy Forsyth, who is hanging-up his mike and shutting down his lap top after the best part of half a century at the coal face.

Roddy's Parkinson's Disease has been a big factor in his decision to quit and he was invited up to the sixth floor corridor for a farewell presentation from the SPFL in recognition of his fine work in covering the game up here.

I now hope Roddy will write his memoirs, he has a terrific story to tell.

Enjoy a long retirement Mate.