SO SCOTLAND nearly beat England, Andy Murray looks as familiar with grass as a Hamilton Accies player, Glasgow’s temperature has been twinned with the sun and Mikey Ashley has developed a soft side.

Forgive me for sticking my rather pink head out the window to make sure the world is still turning on its axis.

What a month June has been in our wee country, and Scottish football has been at the very heart of it.

In a week that’s given us the prospect of Celtic going to Belfast on July 12, the Rangers club shop was also left as bare as the offerings at an Edinburgh purvey.

The new agreement between the Ibrox club and Sports Direct is undoubtedly a good news story for all concerned.

The fan stand-off rebelling against Ashley now means that both parties can benefit from the money burning a hole in Rangers supporters’ pockets.

There will be those who still grudge giving the Newcastle owner any money, but at least it will bring some much needed cash into the club which, with any luck, can trickle its way down to Pedro Caixinha.

Not that the Rangers manager needs encouragement to spend.

Murray Park with each passing day looks more and more like the audition room for Portugal’s Got Talent.

The truce between both parties brought Dave King out into the spotlight and in front of the Scottish press earlier this week.

In yesterday’s SportTimes, I was intrigued to read his statement that Celtic are not as far ahead of Rangers as they should be, and that he expects Caixinha’s team to compete with the Parkhead club once again this year.

It appears the sun seems to have gone to Mr King’s head, too.

The Rangers chairman and majority shareholder said something similar last season and even acknowledged as much when he spoke to reporters this week.

Given how the last campaign backfired spectacularly as Celtic rampaged to an undefeated domestic Treble, tempering expectation levels would perhaps be more advised.

The job the Ibrox manager has to deal with now is far greater than the one his predecessor had 12 months ago.

Coming into the Premiership on the back of a Championship win, nobody in their right mind could have conceived Rangers would get anywhere near their city rivals. Instead, they seemed to go in reverse.

Some may say Rangers couldn’t get any worse, and that’s probably true enough.

Caixinha has identified major flaws in this squad and has sought to rectify them swiftly and extensively.

In many ways, though, he is still a victim of the damage inflict ed by the man he replaced.

The surgery that has already been made to this group was needed and on the face of it Caixinha has spent wisely to bring in a group of players he knows he can trust.

How quickly, and how well, they adapt to the Scottish game is the real key, though.

Making a raft of changes in any squad is something you want to avoid if possible. Caixinha has not had that luxury.

Therefore, it could take weeks, if not months for the Portuguese/Mexican master- plan to come together.

That’s through no fault of the man charged with picking up the pieces.

King is in no place to criticise anyone else for not being as far ahead as they should be.

While there is perhaps an element of truth in that under Ronny Deila Celtic’s progress was far slower than what we have witnessed over the last 12 months, Rangers are not exactly entering the new campaign from a position of strength.

Celtic may not be as far ahead as the Rangers chairman expects them to be, but I’ll hazard a guess that they will still be out of sight of the squad his head coach has had to throw together before a ball has been kicked to start clawing back ground lost in recent years.

If Rangers are to have any chance of doing what he asks, Caixinha will have his work cut out before the June madness has even come to a finish.