Old Firm intrigue can’t mask deeply troubling broader picture in Scotland

Excitement around Saturday’s visit of Rangers to Celtic Park is appropriate. The extent to which Ange Postecoglou can further elevate Celtic after the success of last season remains unknown. So, too, whether Giovanni van Bronckhorst can prove himself capable of re-establishing Rangers as the finest team in the country. It is early enough in the campaign for levels of intrigue to be legitimately high.

That a nine-man Rangers slipped to a draw at Hibernian means Celtic could be five points clear of their oldest foes before the 3pm kick-offs get under way. This would represent an ominous scenario for those in blue even on September’s first weekend. It is the broader picture that is so troublesome for anyone with an interest in competitive balance. Scottish football has a growing problem, one close to 40 years in the making but which on all available evidence will not be resolved, barring a revolution, in four centuries.

Liverpool’s 9-0 dismantling of Bournemouth is a useful reference point for supporters of Celtic, who have jibes about an amateur league thrown at them because of the same result against Dundee United. That United also lost 7-0, 4-1 and 3-0 in the blink of an eye – they sacked their manager, which suggests at least an element of pride – points towards an exceptional case. It is not; from the moment in 1985 when Aberdeen claimed the Premier Division, the gulf between one – or in this case, two – Scottish sides and the rest has never been so alarming. Those who ignore the chasm, largely on the basis of tribal obsession, are burying their heads in the sand. Scotland’s top flight has the unpredictability of the university boat race.

A solitary player, Ross County’s Alex Iacovitti, has scored against Celtic in