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In a week where once again football is fighting to deflect criticism aimed at some , it is clear that it has a continuous battle to promote and develop a positive image.

There are many accusations aimed at football players with regards to behaviour and dedication, sometimes with due cause, but in many other instances without appropriate justification.

Whatever your opinion on footballers and the game itself, are there many who believe that the sport could ever find itself rife with corruption?

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Evidence of the importance of time in football is clear in many aspects of the game.

It can be seen in the form of the simple shout given to a player to make him aware he has the opportunity to take touches on the ball or in the perfect timing shown by those who are able to run beyond their strikers to score goals.

There is even the opinion that finding the net in the last few minutes before the interval is a great time to do so and the minutes added on at the end of a match is often a source of argument.

Therefore given the significance of time in our game should we be surprised that it is emerging in a new guise; namely the duration of tenure that a manager should be afforded before he is removed from his position.

I say this as a mere 15 games into his reign in the Easter Road hot seat.

Is it sheer madness or simply a sign of the times that a manager has only three months to prove himself and achieve successful results or his job is considered under threat?

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It is often said that those who have proven themselves the greatest exponents of our sport were simply born to be great players.

If you believe this to be the case then being a successful player is about being blessed with an ability which enables you to control and pass the ball, rather than just harbouring a strong ambition to be a footballer and trying to attain every skill necessary to do so.

I have blogged previously on the importance of practice in football, and how perhaps it is not emphasised enough to players and therefore I am not aiming to repeat that message.

Rather I want to examine whether or not the modern game is more accommodating of those who have developed excellent athletic prowess, and indeed whether these players are more preferable to those who only possess natural football ability and lack other attributes?

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Have we always been obsessed with size in Scottish football?

From boys club beginnings, when you're told that if you're taller than most you are central defender; or if you are small and slight you must be a winger; to the now redundant but previously ridiculous .

Recent headlines and discussions would suggest that the obsession is still very much alive and kicking.

This time, however, given that it relates to the size of our country's top league, the fixation with the perfect size might just be of paramount importance in securing the future of our domestic game.

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The New Year is traditionally a time of resolution and fresh ambition.

However, for those players aspiring to be managers or those bosses either aiming to move up the leagues or to get back into the game it may be the case that recent managerial appointments in Scotland and the reasoning for them have somewhat blunted the ambition of many.

I am not being critical of the ability of the likes of Colin Calderwood and to successfully manage in the SPL but rather asking if clubs appear to be turning their back on those who have proven themselves in our top league in favour of others who have spent the majority, if not all of their coaching career in England.

Furthermore, if the desire is to appoint an individual who few have predicted then is there not the necessary managerial talent in the SFL to be capable of making the transition to being a gaffer in the top flight?

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