THIS was a sobering week for Scottish football and there isn't any sign of things getting better.

Twenty years ago, before the birth of the Premier League, Scottish football's powerhouses Rangers and Celtic could have had the pick of anyone they wanted.

Coffers boosted by huge crowds meant they could have matched the spending of any of the English league's bug spenders.

In the 1980s, Scottish financial muscle was able to lure England regulars Mark Hateley and Terry Butcher, now the only chance of that happening is if the Manchester United squad's plane is directed to Glasgow because of freak weather conditions.

The results this week in Europe, where Celtic lost 1-0 to Hamburg at home in the Europa Cup and even more shockingly, Rangers were humbled by Unirea Urziceni in the Champions League, mean Scottish club football is at its lowest ever ebb.

The news that Gordon Strachan, a man who steered Celtic to three consecutive Premier League titles, is the favourite for managerless Championship side Middlesborough is also a blow.

It's a far cry from when a youthful Alex Ferguson left Aberdeen to join Manchester United in the 1980s.

Despite having plenty of Champions League experience, it seems Strachan's only considered worthy of joining a club that has had a habit of selling its better players in recent seasons.

For all their history, passionate fans and massive stadiums, the Glasgow giants are competing on a financial level with what are in effect clubs from the second tier of English football.

Signings such as Kyle Lafferty and Glen Loovens are hardly up with these well-supported side's best players and illustrates that without significant money from television, big clubs cannot compete.

Both would love a move to the English top flight or the often mooted European Super-League but with both looking a long way off, these two giants will have to toil in their own unglamorous backyard for a while longer.