Bargain basement and golden oldies - the only way Celtic and Rangers can compete

Planning has already begun in earnest for next season in the east end of Glasgow. No matter what the outcome of the potentially nail-biting finish to the SPL season, Gordon Strachan will be Celtic manager next season.

Sunday’s final Old Firm crunch could see Rangers end the slim hopes of the Bhoys or result in a rise in sales of alcohol throughout Glasgow for the last three weeks of the season.

Longer-term plans are studiously put into place at Parkhead these days and there will be no shortage of comings and goings during the summer. The futures of Bobo Balde and Thomas Graveson will be sorted out. Hopefully both will find other clubs and that in turn could release weekly wages totalling close to £70,000.

If offers come along for Massimo Donati and Lee Naylor, hopefully Strachan will see sense and move the two of them on. Neither is up to standard and Donati in particular has flattered to deceive whilst showing no heart for a fight when the going gets tough, which inevitably it does in Scotland.

There are no places for players without the necessary bottle to survive in the SPL. Players who have obvious talent but prefer to spend their time in nightclubs and think training is not needed will also leave.

A striker who can perform at both difficult and varying levels of competition in the SPL and Europe are very difficult to find, mostly because of the financial chasm between the Scottish League and Europe.

It is not an easy job for Strachan to pinpoint such players and then attract them to Parkhead. It really is a thankless task, which means Celtic have to have a superior scouting system that can unearth this talent, bring it to Scotland and try to hang on to it before it is attracted to England, Italy or Spain.

The pressures and aspirations attached to both clubs in Glasgow make for an almost impossible and unforgiving aspect to football north of the border. The SPL is not an attractive league for most. Going to Motherwell on a wet Wednesday night would not appeal to many. The league is tough but not as bad as many make out.

The lure of Champions League football, the stadium, the new training complex, and the fans, are the best Celtic have to offer to prospective employees. They are not bad carrots to have dangling,  but in this day and age the modern footballer is looking for money.

When Celtic target a player and make approaches to bring that player to Scotland everything seems good up to a point; but as soon as an English Premier League club move into the equation and doubles the money, Celtic cannot compete, even though the chances of winning a league medal at Celtic is far greater than at Middlesbrough or Birmingham.

Celtic and Rangers have to shop in different markets, try to get the best youngsters before anyone else, or perhaps entice the older players who have not won many trophies throughout a career.

Attitudes towards money change as players get older and this will happen more and more. It’s where Celtic could cash in. Players who went for the big-money moves to middle-of-the-road teams in England, yet still have nothing to show the grandkids, might yet be tempted by the chance of guaranteed medals and Champions League matches with the Glasgow clubs.

At this moment in time, it's all that Celtic can offer. I sincerely hope the plans Strachan puts in place for the summer include a few more players who can set Parkhead alight; and perhaps a top-notch defender to shore up that back line wouldn’t go amiss.