Celtic have a foot in the Champions League group stage after beating Astana 5-0 in the first leg of their play-off but this success will not benefit other clubs

It was not enough to appreciate Celtic’s 5-0 trouncing of Astana in isolation. The full-time whistle had barely blown on yet another stirring European occasion when the tired cliche arose regarding how wonderful imminent Champions League qualification was for Scottish football. There should be no harm in dismissing such a theory even if it is obvious why it arises: Scottish football is desperate for all the scraps of hope it can gather.

Scott Sinclair double inspires classy Celtic to march towards group stages Read more

That Celtic are on the verge of participation in the prime event of the European club scene for a second year in succession means enormous credit is due to Brendan Rodgers. He has reinvigorated the side since his appointment last summer. Celtic’s board, castigated as the club flatlined during Ronny Deila’s tenure, have once again seen sound judgment and investment fully rewarded. Rodgers has created an atmosphere akin to the spell of Martin O’Neill, with the combination of shrewd signings plus the overseeing of sharp improvement by existing personnel re-establishing a coach who was bruised when he left Liverpool. Rodgers has not only succeeded, he has done it with panache.

Celtic as a business remains prudently and professionally run. For the old-fashioned among us, and on checking some of the names who now compete in the Champions League, it is perfectly fair that a club of this standing is among the elite. In basic football terms, Rodgers will relish the opportunity to check for improvement from Champions League displays of a year ago. Matches such as these define the players and their manager far more than a Friday night at Ross County ever will.

But great for Scottish football? A boost to the status of the national sport? We should be spared this overreaction. When a club – or two clubs, let us be clear – with fiscal power to dwarf all before them earns another £30m advantage, the case for broader benefit is virtually non-existent. Only two factors serve as counterpoints: other clubs receive a small and variable consolidation payment from Uefa because of Celtic’s progress, and if indigenous players are afforded more game time against top-level opposition then no harm can be done. Beyond that, the benefit is entirely Celtic’s, as they should be perfectly happy to admit in celebration of their own efforts.

Pointing out such basic reality is met with fury by those supporters of Celtic who appear to believe their club is indulging in a form of missionary work. A dominant Rangers were Champions League regulars in the 1990s; the Scottish game was already in an epic decline, with these European forays doing absolutely nothing to halt that.

Celtic, the economic entity and football team, are not representative of Scottish football. A glance at accounts portrays that much. There is no other way to explain a scenario where a manager’s salary is 10 times the first-team wage bill of clubs in the same league. This is not Celtic’s fault or a reason for embarrassment but it is crazy to ignore a gulf which, owing to an imminent Champions League return, will only grow. With that comes consequences.

It is legitimate to ask when a title challenge will exist. Rival clubs are not lacking in ambition or desire, merely the key element of finance. The essence of sport must be competition; a scene where Celtic can swat aside all before them at home with such consummate ease does not have long-term value for spectators, commercial partners or, whisper it, football professionals. The one caveat to this would be if clubs elsewhere in Scotland were proven as strong in their own right despite watching from afar. In fact, the opposite has consistently been highlighted.

In recent years there have been various European failings before the summer holidays were over by Aberdeen, St Johnstone and Heart of Midlothian. Rangers stumbled to the most embarrassing exit of all, at the hands of opposition from Luxembourg. Incremental boosts to the co-efficient – Celtic reached the last 16 after beating Barcelona in 2012, for example – have not resonated elsewhere. Scotland’s national team will soon fail to reach another major finals, meaning that absence will stretch to at least 22 years.

Businesses, even in the Scottish Premiership, operate on a hand-to-mouth basis. Motherwell have been in the top flight since 1985 yet their manager admitted in this close season he cannot afford to raise a player’s wage by £500 per week. The meeting of Hamilton and Dundee last Saturday attracted 1,600. These are snapshots but important ones; League One sides in England will have little problem outbidding even some of Scotland’s major clubs for talent.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Brendan Rodgers has said Celtic know all about financial disparity, as they suffer from it in Europe. Photograph: Russell Cheyne/Reuters

The funny thing is, Celtic know all too well about financial disparity. They suffer on account of it every time they enter the Champions League or try to purchase even a mediocre player from England.

Rodgers cited spending power in the context of last season’s group stage a fortnight ago. “We had Borussia Mönchengladbach last year as the ‘third’ team in our group; they have a £120m budget,” he said. “We are about £20m. The more money you have won’t guarantee you anything but it can get you to that [higher] level. We won’t win the Champions League but we have to do our best.”

At the end of last season, in contemplating another European challenge, Rodgers said: “You have to be careful and recognise where we are. We’re 10 times behind budget-wise. You have to be realistic. We would like to be in Europe for the second part of the season, whatever competition that’s in, and that’s a huge, huge ask for a club like ourselves.”

Members of Celtic’s board have battled hard against what they regard as an unfair collection of the bulk of Europe’s riches by only the biggest leagues. Some inside Celtic Park have been desperate for a re-alignment of European leagues for years, so the club’s pull can be properly represented. So while there may be uproar when someone points out the negativity attached to Celtic’s own advantage, this should be widely understood.

In the bygone age of the late 1980s, seasons would start with Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hearts holding legitimate aspirations of winning the championship. There had been broad benefit then of widespread European success. Now? Celtic should cherish heady times. The rest of Scotland has no cause to join in. That group has to, instead, somehow seek a solution.