Hugh Keevins: Madness and mayhem. What's not to love?

You could look at the two sending off incidents at Hamilton Accies' game with Hearts on Sunday and suggest we have a type of un-armed combat that masquerades as football in this country.

You could scrutinise the post match punch up allegedly involving Celtic pair James Forrest and Leigh Griffiths in the tunnel after their team's win over St. Johnstone at the weekend and conclude that players here border on the doo-lally.

Or you could examine the 'crowd' of 3,556 at Inverness Caley's game with Partick Thistle on Saturday, on a day when admission was on a 'Pay what you can' basis, and arrive at the notion that nobody cares what happens here in any case.

But you'd be wrong.

There were 75,408 people paying far more than they can afford in plenty of cases who watched Manchester United score no goals and lose to Southampton at Old Trafford on the same day, but that doesn't mean the English game can be held up to ridicule.

They also had nasty tackles galore and no doubt the odd bit of apres-match cabaret in a tunnel or two to boot down South.

On the day that we annually take the opportunity to see ourselves as others see us, as Robert Burns wrote, those who care about the national game up here can take the national bard's advice and realise that we still have a fair bit to offer.

I mean, what's not to love about the notion of forty-six match officials flying off to the Costa Blanca at the SFA's expense for a mid-Winter training camp?

The players they handle on a weekly basis can't get the sun on their backs at this time of the year for the simple reason that their clubs can't afford to take them abroad for warm weather work-outs.

But we can all rest assured that when our whistling folk return they will have been restored in mind and body for the rigours that lie ahead over the remainder of the season. They had better be because we're now racing towards the sharp end of our three major competitions.

And supporters of all clubs will now be rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of calling Superscoreboard to decry the efforts of match officials currently sunning themselves in Spain.

Pampered by their employers, pelted by their critics for incompetence. That will be what's now known as the narrative over the days ahead.

But what's new?

Best to simply get on and appreciate the bill of fare before us.

Rangers start the whole show off tonight when they visit Morton while needing to be aware of Hibs stalking them in the Championship title race. If any points are dropped by Mark Warburton's side at Cappielow then the clamour to get Michael O'Halloran in from St. Johnstone will intensify, because it's third placed Falkirk at Ibrox after that.

Celtic have a treble-threatening trio of matches next, being at Hampden to face Ross County in the semi-final of the League Cup on Sunday and then going to Pittodrie for a potential league decider against Aberdeen and rounding it all off with the peculiarity of a Scottish Cup tie against Lowland League East Kilbride.

Any referee who gets anything of a major nature wrong in any of those matches will be heading back to Spain for peace and quiet while the fans insist upon an extradition order being served on the hapless individual concerned. Remember the penalty that never was when Celtic lost to Inverness Caley Thistle in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup last season?

You must do because it still comes up at regular intervals on Superscoreboard nine months on from Steven McLean's horrendous mistake at Hampden.

And let's not forget the strange case of Dundee United while we're at it. Can you be eleven points behind your nearest struggler at the foot of the Premier League table with fifteen games left to play and still slip the relegation noose?

We'll have a clearer indication of the answer to that question when United go to Partick Thistle on Saturday. The Jags lost four goals and still got off lightly when they played Dundee in their last home fixture.

Alan Archibald then apologised for the dire quality of the game when Thistle drew in the Highlands at the weekend.

All of which points to a logic-defying, and resounding, victory for the home side at Firhill when United come calling. Or does it?

It's all madness, but it's our madness.

And it's going to be compelling viewing with the added attraction of having a stick with which to beat our newly tanned referees, fresh from their Spanish sojurn with improved fitness, sharpened vision and lightning reflexes in the decision-making department.

Aye, that'll be right. And we wouldn't have it any other way.