WELL done, Scotland. We are so proud of you all.
That social media post by First Minister John Swinney was fired out within seconds of Andy Robertson’s terrific winner in Poland on Monday night.
Proud? Don’t make me laugh.
This government should be ashamed of their lack of investment in the national game.
If Swinney was truly proud of Steve Clarke’s team he would have stepped in to ensure the 2-1 Warsaw win was shown on free-to-air television.
He would also be urgently trying to build on their success by improving facilities for our next generation.
The fact that Scotland supporters were forced to watch yet another big match on YouTube is a real national embarrassment.
And the lack of a proper football infrastructure for our kids — and the ever-rising cost of the facilities that do exist — is a disgrace.
Swinney and his fellow politicians will happily pay tribute to Clarke and his players on social media.
He was eager to don the kilt and head to Germany for the Euros with the Tartan Army.
But actually do something meaningful for our national sport?
Forget about it.
When I see politicians put out those staged social media posts it makes me angry — it’s painfully obvious it’s all for show.
The YouTube situation is a farce. Scotland supporters deserve better.
And for those asking why Sky Sports couldn’t have covered the game on Monday night, believe me they went as far as they could with Uefa when it came to acquiring rights for the Scotland games.
The governing body opted for Viaplay, and we are now in a situation where YouTube is the only place to watch it as our state broadcaster won’t step in.
This is surely the time for Swinney to take control and say to the BBC, enough is enough.
You can’t have a situation where BBC Scotland will show live Championship football every Friday night — but don’t have live coverage of a massive Scotland game.
Our politicians will make excuses, but the Welsh have somehow been able to do it. Although it’s in their own language on S4C.
That makes it even worse — because we have TWO national channels.
It’s thought around £160million of licence-payers’ money has been shelled out on the BBC Scotland channel alone.
Do we not deserve better for our cash than a channel that had just 200 viewers for a news programme in January?
But whether it’s BBC Scotland, STV, ITV4 or Dave, that game should have been on free-to-air TV.
For a younger generation who are happy to watch football on smartphones or tablets, the picture was probably OK.
For those trying to stream it through their TV, the quality was nowhere near good enough. There were no pre or post-match interviews, no proper analysis, and it all just ended abruptly after the final whistle.
Compare that to the comprehensive coverage of England against the Republic of Ireland the night before — live, ironically enough, on STV.
Which stands for SCOTTISH Television, in case anyone is wondering.
The government must be stronger when it comes to promoting the game and investing in Scottish football.
They need to ensure that these poster boys for the next generation get maximum exposure.
Let’s ensure they are out there inspiring kids and encouraging them to get out kicking a ball.
When Ben Doak is running rings around Croatia and Billy Gilmour is pulling the strings against Poland, we want that to be broadcast to the nation.
Surely Swinney and Co see that relegating games to YouTube isn’t good enough?
But then I wonder if they truly care about the future of our game.
Boss Clarke has done an unbelievable job for Scotland in the past six years, and he deserves more support from our politicians.
He spoke passionately last week about change being needed at youth level if we ever hope to produce more elite players.
The Scotland manager stopped short of calling out the government, but I’ll happily go there.
Hundreds of millions have been wasted by this government on ferries and the deposit-return scheme.
The ferry costs alone are expected to go over £400million. They are eye-watering sums of money.
If even a fraction of that was diverted towards better, more cost-effective football facilities for our kids, we’d be in a far better — and let’s not forget healthier — place.
Many of our councils seem happy to install artificial surfaces because they charge a fortune for them.
That has to end, and the gates should also be opened when pitches aren’t booked up to let kids learn and develop.
We have so many good stories in this Scotland squad. Guys like Andy Robertson, who rose from Queen’s Park to win 80 caps.
Then you have the Doaks and Gilmours of this world, who are so relatable to the youngsters of today.
Both had the bravery to leave the Old Firm and back themselves to progress with English giants.
Now they are thriving in a national side that is once again going places under Clarke.
We need to do everything we can to connect our kids to these rising stars and that means investment — on TV rights and facilities.
So my message to Swinney and our politicians is this, if you ARE really proud of the Scotland team, then start showing it.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
