WE all raised our glasses to Scottish football's new record-breaking television deal - but predictably some were half empty.

The ink had barely dried on the SPL-Setanta Sports contract, which guarantees the game another £55million over the next four years, before petty potshots were being fired off.

Now you're probably thinking: "Well he's a Setanta presenter. He would be backing the deal as he orders his new Bentley convertible."

But we should all be toasting this much-needed major cash injection rather than focusing on the negative.

Police, screamed one back page, were apparently up in arms about the prospect of Friday night games.

Another newspaper asked how armchair fans could possibly be expected to cope with live Scottish footie four days a week.

Then there's the quality question. Why bother with more matches when, if you take the Old Firm out of the equation, they're not really worth watching?

And I hear the BBC were bleating they didn't get the chance to re-enter the fray.

Why, they moaned, was there not a tender process leading up to the new deal?

Those are all questions that can be easily answered.

The police won't be in uproar for the good reason that Friday night games won't be happening every week.

Never mind the policing implications, there are probably sound commercial reasons for steering clear of an evening with going-out written all over it.

Also, our viewers-warm wonderful human beings-won't have to deal with a four-day spread of SPL coverage since the maximum we'll show in any one week is two games.

As for that old chestnut about why you would want to watch 22 more matches not involving Celtic or Rangers, I put forward this season as a case for the contrary.

Despite what Lex Gold may hope for, I imagine the bulk of our extra games could be played on a more audience-friendly Monday night and will feature Hearts or Hibs.

No problem with that as there's never a dull moment involving that pair.

Hibs on their day are a wonderful watch.

And Vladimir Romanov's (below) reign at Champions League-chasing Hearts ensures a seven-days-a-week soap opera that's essential viewing.

Other regularly featured teams would probably include Aberdeen, Motherwell, Inverness and a hopefully rejuvenated Dundee United.

I don't think that's a recipe for a small screen switch-off.

Some cynics have tried to paint the blackest possible scenario. What about Inverness against Dunfermline in bleak midwinter at the Caley Stadium? Who wants to watch that live on telly?

Not many of us is the obvious answer and if my gaffer went as far as picking that fixture I might just suggest a check-up from the neck up.

We're a commercial enterprise so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to suss that we're hardly going to select games, with respect to Caley and Pars fans, that are a telly turn-off.

And dear Auntie Beeb, there were no bids invited for televising the SPL because the contract hadn't expired.

That's setting aside the counter-query about where BBC Scotland would have found the cash needed if there had been the option to bid.

Of course, if you want to pick holes in the telly deal that's always possible.

But even allowing for this presenter's natural bias I reckon those who care for the game should be celebrating the strengthening of Scottish football's foundations.

Extra money into the coffers of our top 12 clubs can only help them along the road to long-term recovery.

Our friends in the south don't have that cash flow problem but my bosses at Setanta would love to throw money in the direction of the English Premiership as well.

It will be interesting to see how it all pans out in the next week or so as the second round of bidding for TV rights takes place.

In the first round three of the six Premiership packages -each holding the rights to 23 live matches - stayed with Sky Sports.

The other three are still up for grabs with Sky only allowed to get their hands on another two.

Others, like the BT Group and cable broadcaster NTL, are thought to be in the bidding second time around.

And Setanta are serious players too as Premier League chiefs in England prepare to rake in considerably more than the £1.1 billion they had thrown at them last time.

For a TV company, when you buy a piece of the Premiership you acquire much-sought-after credibility in the UK and European marketplace.

Credibility is, hopefully, something Setanta are well on their way to winning in Scotland.

With the SPL TV deal extended and the dark days of clubs in crisis behind us there are 55 million reasons to be cheerful about the future.

Taken from the Sunday Mail