Ibrox is livid over Souttar. But their own failures are what led them here.

So once again, the violins come out. Once again, the world is expected to play a sorrowful tune for the Ibrox club. Once again, they are the victims. Once again, they are the put-upon. Once again, something that afflicts teams the world over, whenever international football is played, becomes a cause for them to pour out their hatred and scorn upon the SFA.

John Souttar got injured on international duty and needs surgery.

Well boo-hoo.

It would be funny if the exact same thing hadn’t just happened to us during this international break. Thankfully, Tierney’s injury isn’t serious – but it could have been. We got no sympathy, and we weren’t going to get any, no matter how bad that injury had turned out to be.

What always amazes me at times like this is that something we – we in Celtic cyberspace, we the sane, the tuned-in, the mentally robust – have already said and been ignored for saying suddenly becomes part of the discourse the moment it applies to the club across the city.

Playing Tierney was a scandal. It was a shocking decision on Clarke’s part.

How many of us said that playing Nations League games after the domestic campaign had wrapped up was stupid, bordering on farcical? How many of us questioned the wisdom – or sanity – of playing guys who weren’t fit and risking them heedlessly and needlessly in worthless friendlies?

When Tierney got injured, we certainly made noise about it. Especially when we found out Clarke knew he was carrying a knock and played him anyway. And actually, it is possible to have some sympathy for the Ibrox club and their player here, because it does call Clarke’s judgement further into question.

But let’s be honest – we know what their real complaint is about, and it’s not about John Souttar being injured. Not really. Their anger is a reaction to the European draw they’ve landed. They got the tie they didn’t want – the worst possible game – and a couple of them are already online moaning about the unfairness of a Champions League set-up where so many teams from the top five leagues go straight into the groups, and they must fight through three qualifying rounds.

And that’s why I say, right at the top, that we’re all expected to get the violins out. It’s not really about Souttar’s injury – it’s about the timing of it, and the fact it makes him a doubt for that game. But honestly, I find all this whining and whingeing to be utterly tiresome.

I don’t like the Champions League format either. I wrote about it not that long ago – on the day of the final, in fact. I said it was a competition I used to love but which has lost a lot of its shine because of the current structure and the over-representation from a handful of countries. But sympathy for the Ibrox club? I can’t quite muster it.

I can muster sympathy for us. We’re the champions. It’s called the Champions League. Champions should have a better than average chance of being in those groups, so long as their national coefficient justifies it.

But the second-placed team in Scotland and the second-placed team in Greece having to play through qualifiers? I don’t see the problem.

The champions of Scotland have a case. The second-placed team does not. Nationally, our coefficient doesn’t justify it. Our collective performances against the top clubs don’t justify it. So, what exactly are they moaning about?

If they don’t want to play through so many qualifiers, the solution is simple: get better here at home. Win your domestic league.

Then you’ve got a complaint about having to play fewer qualifying games. Next season, should we enter the Champions League as title holders, we’ll have to navigate two rounds instead of one. That’s ridiculous, but life’s not fair. And all the moaning about coefficients and systems won’t change a thing.

The Ibrox club is very good at playing the victim.

But in this case, they’re victims of their own failings. That’s the reality of it. Yes, Souttar’s injury is a blow. And no, he shouldn’t have been playing in the Nations League if he wasn’t fit. It is atrocious that Clarke made that call. But Ibrox is misplacing its anger if they’re directing it at the SFA.

Let’s be honest – Souttar is injury prone. He’s always been injury prone. This is a self-inflicted wound. They’ve made themselves dependent on a player whose fitness has always been in doubt. That’s on them. And I say this knowing that we may be heading in the same direction if we don’t get proper cover for Tierney.

But Souttar’s fitness issues are not just historical – they’re current.

Having a guy like that in your squad and being overly reliant on him is a gamble. And in this case, the gamble hasn’t just failed – it’s proved to be idiotic. And this comes at the same time as they’ve let Balogun go and are preparing to sell Robin Proper. So it’s hard to shake the impression they’ve dug this hole themselves. They know these games are coming. If they’re not prepared for them, whose fault is that?

Honestly, I’m tired of all of Scottish football being expected to feel sorry for these people. They always have a cause for complaint. They’re always raging about something. And it’s always someone else’s fault.

They never take responsibility for their own failings. They never show any accountability. Clarke shouldn’t have played the guy. But Clarke isn’t the reason they’re in this mess. The SFA isn’t responsible for the state of their squad or the state of their club. That’s on them. They only have themselves to blame.