Scottish football: The season so far from Euro flops to VAR’s introduction

Lowest-ever Champions League tallies, getting scudded by a team from Ireland before Love Island was finished, and becoming famous for falling asleep on the telly. You know it’s been a successful European tour for our clubs when that’s how you summarise it.

This was the campaign where Scotland had five – yes, FIVE – teams heading off to fly the flag, with three of them guaranteed group-stage football.

What could possibly go wrong?

Step forward Sligo Rovers. The League of Ireland team won at Fir Park in a Conference League qualifier first leg back in July before Motherwell were punted out of the competition 3-0 on aggregate after the return. It would be enough to see manager Graham Alexander depart in the immediate aftermath.

Right, Dundee United, your turn next. The Tannadice side got off to an incredible start in the early days of Jack Ross’ tenure, beating Dutch team AZ Alkmaar on Tayside in a performance dripping with confidence, guile and class. Sadly for Ross, all of those characteristics were left at the Lorraine Kelly departure lounge at Dundee Airport en route to a 7-0 blootering in the return.

It was all too much for some of the large United travelling support who streamed out early or, in the case of one poor Arab, went for a mid-trouncing snooze, much to the amusement of the local television director. Sweet dreams are not made of this.

Last season’s third-placed Heart of Midlothian launched a bid for the Europa League groups, only for Zurich to elbow the Edinburgh team into the Conference League. By far the Scottish side with the best group campaign, Robbie Neilson’s side didn’t get out their section but did beat Rigas FS twice on their way to finishing third. Defeats by Istanbul Basaksehir and Fiorentina will have smarted, but hey, their fans got a couple of decent away days out of it.