THE qualifying group draw for the Women's Champions League hasn't done Glasgow City any favours. Games against the champions of Poland and Belgium, as well as Georgia, would not have been the preferred choice of head coach Scott Booth and his players.

The consolation, and there is also a considerable financial windfall, is that City will host Group 3 – albeit in Edinburgh. That's because the dates for the qualifiers, from August 7-13, coincide with the Glasgow 2018 European Championships and finding suitable venues proved impossible.

City will therefore play their group matches on the outdoor pitch at the Oriam national performance centre. The other three games, involving Gornik Leczna, Anderlecht and Martve, will be staged at Ainslie Park.

“Our first game will be against Anderlecht, so that's an interesting one to look forward to,” Booth said. “We saw Gornik Leczna at the Potsdam tournament and they've got good players who are with the national squad.

“We've not had too kind a draw, but that's not to make any excuses. You're going to meet tough teams at this stage anyway, so we need to win the games to get through.”

Booth says he is likely to add a couple of players to his squad in the next couple of weeks, and given the nature of Group 3 he will almost certainly have to if his side are to continue their proud European record. City have played in the knock-out stages for each of the last seven seasons and reached the quarter finals in 2014-15.

The 11-time Scottish champions will receive a total of €175,000 from Uefa for hosting the group. That will presumably leave a surplus even after all the costs, including the accommodation and internal transport of the three visiting teams, have been met. There is also a further financial motive to qualify for the last 32 as, for the first time, Uefa are giving €20,000 to each participating club – a payment which continues through the later rounds.

These are, of course, paltry sums compared with the men's tournament, but as the women's professional game continues to grow apace so will the rewards. Which is good, as financial carrots are the only ones which might make Scotland's unambitious men's clubs even consider taking their women's teams more seriously.

TODAY'S SBS SWPL1 match at Hibernian will be David Haley's last game as manager of Celtic. He was appointed in 2013 and other members of his backroom staff, including assistant Peter Caulfield, have either already left or will do so this afternoon.

That leaves the task of finding a new manager. It is understood that potential candidates have already been seen, with a second round of interviews due to take place this week. Celtic's next competitive game is on August 5 against Glasgow City.

Haley is stepping back into the role of head of the women's academy, and admits going into work the day after his side were demolished 9-0 by Hibs in the SWPL Cup final last month was not easy.

“It was horrendous,” he admitted. “I really didn't want to go in. It was similar to doing the post-match interviews, but you have to stand up, and you have to do them.

“I can't say I've loved every minute of the job, but I've enjoyed working with some great players including Julie Fleeting, Suzanne Grant, Gemma Fay, Kelly Clark and Natalie Ross. The other side of it has been bringing through good quality youth players such as Chloe Arthur and Abi Harrison.”