BARRY HEARN, Britain's leading sports promoter, has castigated the SPFL over its two-and-a-half year search for a title sponsor and called for fresh leadership to address the lack of funding in the Scottish game.

Addressing the Scottish FA convention at Hampden - he was speaking in front of SFA chief executive Stewart Regan, but shortly after SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster had left the room - the founder and owner of Matchroom Sports and former Leyton Orient chairman was scathing about many aspects of the running of our national sport, starting at the very top.

"I look at Scottish football and see a nation with its head down looking at its shoelaces," said Hearn. "You're better than that. You're not number one in the world but you're 36th and that's not a bad starting point.

"When I started off with the darts and snooker we were way down but we believed in ourselves and had a bit of a passion. But sometimes organisations get into that mode of 'oh, that's how it is'.

"They are totally lazy and set in their ways. The fact you've got a Scottish Premiership without a sponsor says it all. Do you know how long you'd work for Barry Hearn if that was the case?

"My message to the leaders would be to wake up and smell the coffee. I can't say any more. I don't know these people personally but they're not unsuccessful people. The mystery in my mind is how someone with a background in commerce or wherever who has run successful companies can't see the validity of common sense.

"If people don't act then they get what they deserve. This isn't a charity. I won't go home and worry about Scottish football. But it's straightforward to change it if you've got the mindset to do it. The first thing you need to do is acknowledge you have a problem - then you are some way to solving that problem."

There was more than one strand to Hearn's strident monologue. He feels the decline in Scottish attendances could be addressed by more realistic pricing and more giveaways to kids and pensioners, while a further merger of the SFA and SPFL would provide one unified point of contact for the Scottish game. He said he never sees SPFL employees out promoting or selling their product at TV rights festivals across the globe, and with more current Twitter followers than the SPFL, he feels there is huge room for growth in social media.

While punters knock back the pints at his boxing and darts shows, the rules prohibiting the sale of alcohol within Scottish grounds are downright ludicrous and should be challenged.

"Listen, I'll carry on selling 11,000 for a night of darts at the Hydro and your attendances will be 1,250 people or whatever," added Hearn. "How can a little company like mine turn over the same amount as the SPFL? And how can we make millions of pounds of profit and you're doing your b*******.

"I know football is different and there are complications. But things like the alcohol ban - how on earth have you put up with that over the years? It's obscene. It's actually insulting for people who go to a football match.

"And don't say 'I served a beer and there was trouble' because it's your job to make sure there is no trouble. People will be people. But the customer experience is all part and parcel of why your gates are dropping."

Rather than compare Scottish football endlessly with the countless riches south of the border, Hearn used a cooking metaphor to describe how Scottish football could make the most of the ingredients it does possess. Big clubs in particular should insist less on a bigger share of the collective cake, and more on growing the size of the cake altogether.

"Self-interest [among club owners] is still an issue," Hearn said. "These big clubs that want all of the money, of course, because that's human nature, have got to be told 'No, but let's make the cake bigger so you end up with more than you're getting now'.

"It's not just the level of football. Two donkeys make a great race. I put on fights that are s*** sometimes but they're entertaining. Sometimes you get stuck up your own backside with this blazer mentality."

While the SFA deserve credit for allowing such an unprecedented truth-telling session at their event, Hearn was unapologetic about his comments afterwards. "I didn't get paid to speak at Hampden because I didn't want paid," said Hearn. "That gave me the freedom to say exactly what I thought because I don't know anybody. You get to a certain age where you can't be bothered to mess about - you've got to be honest. If I made a mistake or upset anyone then I'm ever so sorry... but f*** it!"