Serhou Guirassy

No one enjoys hearing painful home truths. Least of all the flat earthers who would rather stick their fingers in their ears than acknowledge Scottish football's obvious imperfections. Derek Adams learned that the hard way. Manager of Ross County last December, he was tarred and feathered for claiming that the standard of the SPFL was 'shocking'. 'I've left a team in League Two (Morecambe) that's miles better than this team,' he said of his own side.

For long enough, Celtic's defensive record on the road in the Champions League has made the prospect of picking up points feel about as likely as winning the lottery without first buying a ticket. Brendan Rodgers' men conceded 10 times in three away games in their group last year, one more than they shipped on the road under Ange Postecoglou the previous season. Each time you venture into these highly intimidating arenas, you've got a mountain to climb. Give your opponent three goals of a start and you're starting the ascent with your laces tied together and a blindfold on.

ADD Dortmund to Paris, Barcelona and Madrid on the growing list of Celtic's Champions League crime scenes. Confronted by the yellow wall of the Signal Iduna Park, Scotland's champions crumbled and collapsed under the relentless pressure of last season's beaten finalists. When Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez blew the final whistle, it felt like an act of mercy. Brendan Rodgers described this as an acid test for his team and, in the cold light of day, they failed on every conceivable level. Had the old BBC final score vidiprinter still been in use, they'd have repeated the scoreline in words to emphasise just how outclassed Celtic were in every department.