One foot in immortality; one foot in oblivion
There is no point to San Marino.
I have said before on Superscoreboard that Auchinleck Talbot, the junior side who put Ayr United out of this season's Scottish Cup and lost narrowly to Hearts in the next round, would beat the worst international football team in the world.
And after Scotland's albeit gruesome win against them on Sunday I remain convinced that would be the case.
Everyone in qualifying Group I will beat them home and away so they represent nothing more than a game you have to play or else be thrown out of Euro 2020 for failing to fulfil your fixture list.
Scotland's performance against world football's definition of canon fodder was bang average at best and did nothing to lift morale after the calamity in Kazakhstan last week.
But the only thing which matters now is what happens when Cyprus, who took five off San Marino last Thursday, go to Hampden in June. The match which comes before the acid test against the world ranked number one side, Belgium, in Brussels.
But that's enough time wasted on Scotland. It's time to focus on the football.
You can use the return portion of your ticket on the journey between the sublime and the ridiculous at Celtic Park on Sunday.
Ridiculous is the word which best describes everything associated with the national team.
Sublime it is, therefore, to have a league match so many care about, as opposed to a side so many are trying to forget about or studiously ignore.
And rarely will you find a Glasgow derby with the double-sided intensity of this one.
Celtic kick off with a ten point lead over Rangers at the top of the table. If Neil Lennon records a home win then only a fool would insult his, or her, intelligence by saying the outcome of the title race remained in doubt with seven games left to play.
If Steve Gerrard records a second, successive win over Celtic, and the gap is reduced to seven points, then reports of Rangers' demise for this season will be proved to have been premature.
Seven games? One of them against Celtic at Ibrox?
Don't go towards that pay-out window with your betting slip just yet.
Lennon deserves the Celtic fans' gratitude for picking up the responsibility for a league title, a possible triple treble and the onerous burden of keeping alive the dream of Ten in a Row following the sudden departure of Brendan Rodgers.
But it has been a bit of a struggle so far.
Last gasp winners, such as those at Tynecastle and Dens Park, are high octane moments of dramatic celebration.
However, they also signify a bit of a struggle.
Likewise the loss of the first league points of the season at Celtic Park when Aberdeen went there.
The interim manager needs a win with conviction on Sunday at a time when his performance levels are being recorded in a folder that will be produced as a discussion document when the meeting is called to discuss Rodgers' replacement on a permanent basis.
Gerrard will remain in charge at Ibrox regardless of what happens this season on the basis that the majority did not expect him to end years in the wilderness for the club over a ten month period.
But if Celtic reach eight in a row tension will rise and a poor start to next season would have Gerrard's job under threat in the midst of an even more febrile atmosphere.
So, for both managers next Sunday, there lies the possibility that they could have one foot in immortality or one foot in oblivion.
No title for Lennon, no job. Not even a mention in the consultation process.
No title for Gerrard, no hiding place.
Get it right next time or it's highly unlikely you'll get a third season to stop what is, for the Rangers fans, the unthinkable.
Big bucks. Big expectations. Big consequences. You know the script.
At least it's a step up in excitement level from international football, even if the goings on inside Celtic Park will be a violation of the gentle, reflective atmosphere that should engender Mother's Day.
Then again, if you're being honest, most mothers around these parts probably care more about the outcome of the day than they do about the flowers and the chocolates headed their way.