Just managing to survive

So we've come to the end of another season, and it's not been a vintage one.

Another World Cup qualifying campaign ended in failure, and lame performances by our clubs in Europe did nothing to rehabilitate the reputation of Scottish football.

At least there was no Gretna-like disaster story this year, but be in no doubt that Scottish football is facing a huge crisis just now. With finances under attack from all sides, and supporters' demands as high as ever, managing an SPL club now is probably more difficult now than it's ever been.

Consider the evidence. Half the SPL changed their manager during the season, while St Mirren waited until their last game before dumping Gus McPherson. That's seven out of 12 clubs!

McPherson, in particular, might wonder what on earth he did wrong, having led the Buddies to the League Cup Final (which they really could have won) and kept them up once more.

"The team had got staid", said one unsympathetic supporter. Well, maybe so, but if your team's budget is so tight that Billy Mehmet becomes the talisman you can't afford to keep, you might reasonably ask just how any manager is supposed to build an exciting Buddies team.

Elsewhere, Kilmarnock fell out with Jim Jefferies, who took Csaba Laszlo's still-warm seat at Hearts, and replaced him with the two Jimmies. Motherwell dumped high-maintenance Jim Gannon and sought comfort with Pa Broon. Falkirk, having fallen for Eddie May's patter, then got rather taken by Stephen Pressley's smooth chat. Dundee Utd reluctantly allowed Craig Levein to do his duty, but found love on the rebound with his mate Peter Houston.

And Celtic, after the briefest honeymoon, ended their unhappy relationship with Tony Mowbray, and allowed smitten Neil Lennon a chance to try and win their hand.

Other couplings didn't end in divorce, but it wasn't all plain sailing. John Hughes at Hibs and Mark McGhee at Aberdeen - both popular appointments last summer - were under pressure, with plenty of supporters at both clubs asking for them to go.

And Walter Smith and Rangers, while undoubtedly in love, may still part ways this summer. Smith has been working without a contract since January, and with players certain to leave this summer with no guarantee they'll be replaced, he may well feel he's done all he can at Ibrox.

Rangers will crow about their title success, but in truth Celtic's awfulness played as much a part as their own resilience. In a strange way, their League Cup triumph was almost more impressive, because they strength of character in the final to beat a spirited St Mirren with 10 men.

The top level of Scottish football is in a perilious position. No one's got any money, and gates have been sharply lower this season, either through boredom, frustration, or trouble justifying the cost in these straightened times.

Clubs have struggled to persuade even their season ticket holders to turn up, let alone anyone else, and that means that crowds for next season will probably fall again, further squeezing managers' playing budgets. With La Liga and the Premiership on TV, how many punters are willing to pay £50 or more to drag their kid out to an SPL tussle?

Clubs are increasingly realising that bringing through young players from within is the only solution yet, as Henry McLeish's report confirmed, facilities in Scotland are inadequate. Simply put, not enough children are playing football, certainly not in any kind of structured way, and this is being felt all the way through the game. If SPL clubs are struggling, then what hope in the SFL?

The irony is that the SPL was a tighter, more competitive division this season, with many compelling fixtures. The Old Firm did pull away from the pack in the end, but it took them longer than usual, and teams took points off each other all season long. There are plenty of well-drilled, hard-working teams, but they are struggling to captivate their supporters.

Who'd be a manager eh?