The January transfer window usually is a time for fans to get excited about potential arrivals at their club and to worry over possible departures.

This month, however, will be as flat as a pancake in com-parison to previous activity in Scottish football.

Clubs are skint, so squads will be trimmed and new faces will be in short supply. 2008: A year of contrast

Another year flashes by in Scottish football and, as I look back, there were a few highs and lows from 2008 that remain in my mind.

Chris McCart's eulogy at Phil O'Donnell's funeral, and the show of support towards Eileen and her family after the tragic loss, put football in perspective at the start of the year.

The five-goal thriller between Celtic and Barcelona in the knockout stages of the Champions League was excitement from the top drawer.

The penalty shoot-out in Italy between Fiorentina and Rangers defied belief, but eventually led to Walter Smith guiding his side to the Uefa Cup Final at the City of Manchester Stadium.

There was Craig Levein's rant in the Ibrox press room after watching Dundee United lose to Rangers, thanks mainly to the calamitous refereeing of Mike McCurry. As each line was delivered, you could feel the tension and sense the impending loss of more than a few grand in fines from the Tannadice manager's pocket with every word spoken.

At international level, I still can't believe Chris Iwelumo missed, can you?

I will finish off with one abiding memory of 2008. The loss of Tommy Burns was first and foremost devastating for his family. The sight, however of Walter Smith and Ally McCoist carrying his coffin at the funeral, was testament to how highly regarded he was at both ends of a divided city.

Tam touched so many people, including myself, with his charm, humour and compassion. It was a joy to know him and his departure too soon for everyone. Gone, but not forgotten. Tommy Burns.

I anticipate a long, cold winter ahead, with even the Old Firm watching their pennies in the hunt for a bargain.

I had to laugh at some Celtic fans suggesting Craig Bellamy would be on his way to Park-head in 2009.

The champions could have had him a few years ago at £35,000 a week and baulked at that figure. £70,000 a week and a £7million transfer fee should kill off any lingering expectations of that deal happening.

This could be the month when Gordon Strachan finally addresses the left-back problem, the same one he failed to deal with last year at this time ... no rush.

There may be a couple more to tweak certain areas in the side, but I believe Gordon's view along with the chief executive, Peter Lawwell, will be that the squad is good enough to hold on to the title without any big outlay.

As far as outgoings at Celtic, Massimo Donati back to Italy would be a masterstroke, but don't hold your breath for Bobo Balde leaving any time soon. This is a sad affair where, I believe, both parties could have handled the relationship better.

Bobo is now digging his heels in on a matter of principle and Celtic have isolated him completely from team affairs. I fear this one will get even messier, when Balde eventually tells all.

Across the city, Walter Smith has his work cut out trying to get players out and the right players in to try and salvage their season.

It really is a critical month for Rangers and I am not the least bit surprised that the manager is quite prepared to let Nacho Novo go.

The little Spaniard may be a cult hero at Ibrox but, for me, he flatters to deceive and Walter needs match-winners on the park.

It's hard to believe a full year has passed since Rangers cashed in on Alan Hutton and, for the fans' sake, I hope Madjid Bougherra is not on a fast track back to England before the month is out.

Carlos Cuellar was a hard one for the supporters to take in the summer, but any further loss of the good quality still remaining in the team would, in my mind, stretch fans' loyalty to breaking point in the second half of the season.

Elsewhere in the SPL, it will be ducking and diving with loan deals and loose change acquisitions for the other 10 teams.

Good, old-fashioned, coaching skills could be the key to survival or relegation at the bottom end of the table.

The sad reality for most clubs this year is the credit crunch's full effect has still to bite and I believe there is more pain still to come.

When you look at the millions available to English Premiership sides, we really are the paupers from a Mark Twain novel.

Even at the bottom end of their league, some clubs will be splashing more than a few million just to stay in the top flight, but their football isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I wouldn't switch the tele-vision on to watch too many teams outwith their top six clubs.

I hope there are enough scraps on the table here in Scotland to keep everyone going in the New Year.

I believe everyone connected with our game has a responsibility to try and promote the product to get us through the difficult times ahead.

It's not all doom and gloom; we still have some good players in our league and some emerging young talent as well. If you have some spare cash, get out to a match and get right behind Scottish football.

Have a great 2009!