Brendan Rodgers is amazed at the SFA’s decision to play mid-summer friendlies away to Mexico and Peru.
Without an international manager and with no consultation with effected clubs Stewart Regan has arranged two friendlies that seem utterly pointless.
While Peru and Mexico warm up for the World Cup Finals in Russia the SFA seem intent on harming Celtic’s Champions League prospects.
Five weeks after the match with Mexico the Scottish champions will face their opening European tie with eight matches to be negotiated if they are to reach the riches of the Champions League.
That would deliver a £350,000 windfall to every club in the top flight which is a lot more than the SFA pay out to the Scottish Cup semi-finalists in their flagship competition.
Looking beyond the Celtic angle on the South American jolly Rodgers told the Evening Times: “I also think it is for the wider scope of Scottish football.
“The team has the opportunity to qualify for the Champions League, they need every chance they can to qualify.
“One: for the national game, to show we can put a team into the elite club competition in European football, but also two: financially.
“The financial implications the last couple of years qualifying for the Champions League is that each of the other clubs get a substantial amount of money for that and sometimes that is the most revenue that they get.
“So it is not just for Celtic. Of course, you look firstly within your club and the players but you also have to take into consideration Scottish football when you bring on a friendly campaign that far away at that time of the season.
“Some of these players had six days (off) last year, some had 10, the maximum the non-internationals had was three weeks, so to do that again, you are not giving yourself an opportunity.”
Regan has described the matches against Peru and Mexico as potentially that start of something special.