AT last, Scottish football has had a right good look in the mirror and recognised its place in the pecking order. This should be welcomed and might even allow a stability that will allow the game here to prosper.

By the witching hour on Wednesday, no outrageous transfer business had been completed. Rangers had spent some £2m on the talent but mostly the potential of Kevin Thomson.

Yet, they had been thwarted by their Old Firm rivals in efforts to take Paul Hartley to Ibrox, the midfielder travelling to Celtic for a fee of £1m and a length of contract - potentially two and a half seasons - which reflects a 30-year-old's sell-by date.

Elsewhere, bits and bobs of business were done but the commonality was every other manoeuvre was mundane. Contrast this prudence with the mayhem of the past - before Fifa legislation stipulated there would be but the two transfer windows per season - and there is a sense the Scottish game has discovered a new code. Self- regulation is now a priority.

The English and those inhabiting the major European leagues used to look on in amazement as Rangers, in particular, and Celtic, in part, paid outrageous amounts for players whose demands simply could not be accommodated within the economic structure of a country of five million souls.

No matter at least one-fifth occupy the West of Scotland, the forays of the major powers and their readiness to put themselves heavily into the red just didn't stack up. Probably, the classic example of this foolishness is embodied in Rangers' pursuit of a Chelsea reserve striker, Tore Andre Flo, who cost them £12m during the Dick Advocaat regime.

Flo was a guy who would appear from the bench for maybe 20 minutes before Roman Abramovich began a process that has allowed Jose Mourinho to spend a slice of his fortune on recognised and renowned talent.

Just how a shrewd judge of football, Advocaat, convinced himself of Chelsea's valuation baffles. Equally odd was the willingness of the Rangers chairman, the now Sir David Murray, to provide a cheque that must have been gleefully pocketed by his then counterpart, Ken Bates.

This profligate spending was never sustainable. Around the same time Celtic, guided by Kenny Dalglish and John Barnes, spent fortunes on a dud Brazilian, Rafael Scheidt. He hadn't even been watched one on one, the deal done after Celtic had watched video footage.

Tell you what, and given the circumstances, in that era Sylvester Stallone must have been worth about £10m after playing a prisoner of war goalkeeper in probably the worst movie of the 20th century, Escape To Victory.

Subsequently, a collection of our clubs who flirted with suicidal notions by following trends found themselves on the brink of closure. Since they have always looked towards their supposed betters, the Old Firm, the messages they are now receiving should be beneficial.

Transfers between Scottish clubs must reflect the economics of the prevailing environment. Deals struck across the border are an irrelevance.

At age 22, Thomson would probably have commanded a heftier fee than the £2m Hibs received had he been strutting his stuff for a couple of years in their elite division. Had Hartley been a few years younger and, say, impressing in the Championship, his price would have been well beyond the £1m or so Celtic paid.

Crucially, the business here has finally recognised its status. By no means are our mob a backwater. Equally, we are not sharing a dining room with the Premiership, Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga, or even France's Championnat.

Only commonsense, a recognition of a positioning, can forward Scottish football and that's why Celtic were correct to accept £1m from Aston Villa for Shaun Maloney. He is probably a more accomplished player - and certainly more experienced - than Ashley Young, who moved from Watford to Aston Villa for a ridiculous £9.65m.

Celtic had to bite the bullet in the knowledge Maloney would have been a free agent and walked away in the summer, pocketing the lot on offer (less his agent fee, of course).

Villa were prepared to take a gamble on Young because of the incredible financing of the Premiership from TV. There the bottom club receives £26m, the winners of the title £92m. Our mob have to accept just over £1m-a-piece for rights to their games.

That is Scotland's problem and always will be because of geography and population. It is how we deal with the issue that counts.