The Scottish Cup final will be a closed doors affair.
St Johnstone and Hibs may wonder whether it will make any difference, given that the nonsensical proposal cobbled together and agreed to by the SFA and Scottish Government was to have only 600 fans there anyhow.
Only one in every 86 seats would have been occupied if that underwhelming plan to allow 300 tickets for each club had gone ahead.
With a capacity of 52,000, Hampden with just 600 supporters would have looked almost as ghostly as it will without any punters there at all.
In fact, it would have resembled a Sunday league match at Perth’s North Inch, with supporters scattered like crisps from a burst poke.
The Scottish Cup Final is an historic, showpiece end to the season.
🟢 Club Statement
The Scottish Cup Final on 22 May will now be played behind closed doors at Hampden. The Scottish Government's decision to keep Glasgow in Level 3 lockdown for at least 10 days means we can no longer provide tickets.https://t.co/AeX9h5Tl7Z
— Hibernian Football Club (@HibernianFC) May 14, 2021
Both clubs have the chance to win the famous old trophy for the second time in ten years, but some of the glamour has undoubtedly gone.
What promises to be a keenly competitive match with two evenly matched sides would have been a thrilling affair with a full house in normal times.
Now not even a handful of friends or family can attend.
When it comes to the health of our national sport, football in Scotland succeeds in spite of those in charge, not because of them.
A massive close season is looming for clubs in this part of the world.
St Johnstone could be on the brink of an historic double cup triumph but, in achieving it, encouraging a stampede for the services of some of their outstanding players and their manager.
Callum Davidson’s first season as a boss has been wildly successful beyond his and Saints supporters’ dreams.
However, his talents and those of several first team players will undoubtedly be attracting covetous eyes from bigger and richer clubs.
Dundee United, despite manager Micky Mellon’s protests that he’s at Tanndice until told differently, look likely to pursue a youth oriented approach with a different head coach, and may be minus the star of their season, keeper Benjamin Siegrist, who’s fine performances have alerted clubs with deep pockets.
Dundee stand on the brink of a return to the Premiership and hopefully they’ll make it, but if they don’t will they stick or twist with manager James McPake?
If they fall at the final hurdle of the play-offs will they back the young manager who’s taken them so close and allow him another tilt next season? The impatience of fans may determine what the Dens board does
Down the divisions, Brechin City are facing a fight for their very existence in the traditional Scottish League set-up.
They face two battles; one in their play-off against the ambitious and hungry Kelty Hearts, who have stormed through the game since leaving the Junior ranks.
The other, should they fail in those games, is to persuade the authorities to place them in the Lowland League instead of the Highland set-up – and give them a fighting chance to rebuild as a community club instead of an existential struggle to stay alive.
