Celtic's humiliation exposes the sorry state of Scottish football Ewan Murray

The sniggering from Dortmund to Durness was unmistakable. The fiercely tribal nature of Scottish football, combined with Celtic's dominance of the same scene, means results such as Tuesday's 7-1 trouncing of Dortmund are widely celebrated. Small, narrow but perfectly understandable.

Trouble is, another dreadful night for Celtic provided the latest snapshot of the sorry state of Scottish football. There's no point in rejoicing at Celtic's spectacle as the manner in which they consistently find themselves against serious opposition says it all about the quality of the Scottish Premiership.

Also-rans propagated, prehistoric strategies likewise, youth development is virtually non-existent. Administrators approve work permit applications for low-quality foreign imports, which either hinder the progression of Scottish talent or homegrown players who aren't good enough in the first place. Governance is lazy, run by clubs who lost motivation long ago to see the wider picture.

With Steve Clarke bitten by injury and a loss of form, Scotland are feeling the pinch from a dire lack of adequate resources. Celtic's European instability is intrinsically linked to the national team. Alarm bells should have been rung long ago on both fronts. Instead, given ample opportunity for reform, Scottish football emerged from the pandemic in equally dire shape as how it entered.

The Celtics are ahead of all domestic competition on the road – even if that term feels unfair – on and off the field. Liam Scales Franco Baresi and Callum McGregor could resemble Zinedine Zidane who will struggle to find a platform in England's League One. Defeat at the hands of Dortmund will inevitably be forgotten by the green and whites when the opposite should be the case in Ross County on Sunday in a flurry of celebrations. Celtic, realizing the utter futility of the environment in which they participate week in week out, should lead the charge of revolution.

Their condition is most pathetic. It's not so much that Celtic need a stiff challenge but that Scotland's level needs to improve dramatically. It is curious that Celtic's board is not at the forefront of the agenda. Without it, the club would make Champions League numbers.

Celtic were heavy favorites to beat Slovan Bratislava in the first leg and delivered. It becomes an exercise in futility, however, if the bar is raised meaningfully when they crash spectacularly.

Brendan Rodgers, to his credit, has refused to refer to the leap from the Scottish top flight to the elite level as an impossibility. He is smart enough not to cite financial deficits. They applied more clearly in his favor to Scotland. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire noted on Wednesday that Celtic's squad costs 185 times more than St Johnstone's. Dortmund had six times more than Celtic.

Celtic supporters, fearing that their team's achievements are not being properly recognised, rail against criticism of what happens at home. As a well-run, self-sufficient club, Celtic have no reason to apologize to anyone for their benefits. Yet the point often made that other leagues – France, England, Germany, Spain, Italy – are dominant forces ignores the fact that the top teams are among the best in Europe.

Not only are Celtic miles away, but Dundee United will be embarrassed by Newcastle, Motherwell at Rennes, Kilmarnock at Torino, etc. Hibs beat Aston Villa last season and lost 8-0 on aggregate.

There is excitement about Tony Bloom's involvement with Hearts, and understandably so. Brighton-owned analytics firm Jamestown could provide a much-needed boost to the Scottish scene. More interesting in the short term will be how the organization rates Hearts' players against similarly sized clubs in Europe. It is almost certain that the spreadsheet will provide a clear reading.

There are relevant subplots. Rodgers adopted an identical gameplan in Dortmund to the one used in a 6-0 canter earlier in the day at St Johnstone. There was false confidence attached to the theory that Celtic could replicate what happened in Perth against last season's Champions League finalists.

Coincidentally, Rogers endured a lot of European thumping. Managers need a realistic plan B. Celtic lack a dominant midfield ball winner, partly because they don't need one domestically. The gulf between the major clubs and the rest is unlikely to be masked by the new format of the Champions League; Bayern Munich's nine-score against Dinamo Zagreb and this week's massive wins for Manchester City and Barcelona tell us a lot.

Rangers supporters vehemently object to their great rivals' involvement in the European woes. A run to the Europa League final in 2022 and generally strong performances in that environment give them reason to wobble. Rangers will rather ignore the 2022-23 Champions League campaign when they failed to pick up a point and dropped to minus 20 goals. In August 2023, PSV Eindhoven swept them aside in the Champions League qualifiers.

Laugh at Celtic, by all means. Ultimately, if you're a Scottish football fan, though, the joke's on you. The unusual state of national sports is no cause for comedy.