like a lot of people, I never thought I'd see the day where Rangers, Hearts and Hibernian would be playing outside the top division in the same season.

While the Championship is a lower rung of the ladder, it is shaping up to be a more interesting league than the Premiership next season.

Outwith Celtic, the rest of the teams will have to prove people wrong. But you have to say that it is a surreal set of circumstances we face next season.

From the point of view of the stature of clubs, there are bigger clubs playing in the Championship now than in the top flight.

It will be strange for Celtic having no games against Rangers, Hearts or Hibernian next season but there is still plenty to play for. They will win the league, although nobody will say that and they still have to do it.

They have to maintain a level of performance and consistency. What they will also be striving to do is do better in terms of the cups after missing out on both last season.

There will be a lot of focus on the Championship next term, but Celtic will still want to improve in knockout competitions and, if they can, in the Premiership as well.

Their main target at the start of the season will be to get through the Champions League qualifiers and into the group stage again. The league title is then the next priority, and that shouldn't be a problem. But it is in the cup competitions where there are big improvements to be made.

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