Henry McLeish: We can fix Scottish football - and here's how

Instead, through this prism, football remains shackled to pessimism, the pressures of finance and the corroding cynicism that for far too long has been a feature of the game.

Another scenario, “club game wins over country”, is more of the same, where the authority of the SFA is further eroded and the club game – often a few clubs – prospers at the expense of our national game and our involvement on the international stage. Our youth and elite strategy is fast becoming a victim of this scenario, abandoning a nationwide nurturing of talent and concentrating instead on clubs that have failed to deliver for Scotland – and indeed for themselves – in the past.

We need instead an “optimistic and balanced club and country approach”. This requires the triumph of sporting excellence over feuding factions, power and finance. Of course clubs are businesses, but this approach has not delivered success on the international stage for clubs or country and it has not produced a pipeline of young talent.

We should not accept a lesser game devoid of national ambition. We must close the aspiration gap. We must confront narrow sectional interests and develop a common good for the game.

What does success look like and how do we find a way back? The immediate shape of this is obvious and uncomplicated.

There must be regular participation by the national team in the final stages of international tournaments.

There should be a viable and sustainable professional game with clubs being financially secure, and punching well above Scotland’s population in European club competitions, but not at the expense of the national game.