The new broadcasting deal for Scottish football is great news for the game.
Extra cash in hard pressed times is a boost to club coffers and spent wisely can help bring through a new generation of young talent.
The SPFL have played hard ball and they have secured a decent investment from the BBC.
Now though, it’s time to give something back to the wider Scottish media.
The game needs all the publicity it can get and often makes it as difficult as possible to generate positive stories and market the game in a good light.
Awkward kick off times for fans, poor matchday experience and a lack of coordinated thinking between the authorities and the fans that are the lifeblood of the game, have all contributed to a souring of relationships.
The Scottish game is not the English Premier league and never will be. The new deal here is still a fraction of the crazy money paid to televise football in the richest league in the world, and that won’t change.
Instead our game has to be rooted in a community based approach.
That doesn’t show lack of ambition, it simply means that our clubs need a different outlook to competing at a high level, which doesn’t rely on splashing out huge sums of money which are not available.
Scottish football has to be more accommodating.
Attempts to control what people write and say are doomed to failure. Instead, a more open relationship based on transparency and trust needs to be fostered, and an acceptance that half of the fun for fans is the intrigue and gossip which is part and parcel of the entertainment business.
Modern social media is a growing phenomenon, but the mainstream press is still a huge contact point for most supporters to get their information.
Journalists in America get the kind of access to sports stars which our media can only dream about.
That leads to better coverage, deeper analytical writing and an increased understanding and awareness of the issues.
The game in Scotland isn’t owed a living.
Many younger fans now look blankly when you ask them which Scottish team they support. Clubs like Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are all capturing their time and attention and they’re in danger of being lost to the Scottish game.
That is the next generation of football supporters and they have to be won back and kept for the health of the sport.
Recently Scottish football has simply been managing decline.
A new TV deal and more and better media coverage may be the perfect result for all fans.
* Dundee United have brought me on board in a consultancy capacity to help foster better fan engagement and improve media relations. Much of the job will involve the kind of things I have mentioned above. It will be a huge challenge with the club in the second tier of Scottish football.
I’ll need plenty of patience and a very thick skin, but folk can either moan or get off their backsides and try to improve the situation. That’s what I’ll be trying to do. Wish me luck.
