ARTHUR NUMAN delivers rhetorical questions about the state of the Scottish game with the same sense of purpose once used to power up the left flank at Ibrox.
"How it is it compared to, say, seven or eight years ago when you go to the stadium?" he opens. "Is it the same feeling or not?" he enquires, facial expression making it clear he is fully cognisant of the realities facing a sport lacking in meaningful sponsorship, pay-at-the-gate supporters and any sense of competition in its top division.
Against this backdrop, the former Rangers player's assertion that Virgil van Dijk should get out of here at the first possible opportunity does not seem as inflammatory as you might think.
The Celtic defender was keen to exit Parkhead before the closure of the transfer window amid interest from Sunderland, Southampton and Newcastle United. The SPFL Premiership champions did not receive a bid tempting enough, however, to make them sell.
Flogging Van Dijk shortly after trading Fraser Forster to Southampton might also have tipped even the most loyal of a dwindling band of diehard supporters over the edge.
After a long and frustrating period of being ignored by his country, Van Dijk soon received his first call-up to the Dutch national squad when being drafted into the set-up by their new head coach Guus Hiddink for last week's 2-0 friendly defeat by Italy. In the eyes of Numan, however, that recognition should change nothing. Scottish football is going nowhere. Van Dijk needs an escape route. And fast.
"If he gets the chance, he should go to England in January or the end of the season," said Numan, capped 45 times for the Netherlands.
"He has proved that he is too good, probably, for Scottish football. If you are being linked with some clubs in England, you are going to want to move away. You have Celtic here, but who else?
"The reason Virgil was never in Louis van Gaal's squad was probably because he was playing here. He plays in Scotland while the others are in big competitions. I think he has improved as a player and the time is right for him to move.
"I don't know the reason why Celtic did not let him go, but they have to sell him in time because they have missed out on a lot of money through failing to make it to the Champions League.
"He still has to prove himself and it's hard to judge him when he is playing against strikers from smaller clubs, but he is good enough to play in England.
"He's big and strong. Down there, though, you have to be on the tips of your toes all the time."
Be warned, Numan's view of where Scottish football lies in the grand scheme of things and what it now has to offer players eager to establish a reputation makes for uncomfortable reading.
He arrived at Rangers 16 years ago, having turned down a more lucrative offer from Atletico Madrid. The Scottish game held enough for him to believe that it was a move worth making. What chance, these days, would Rangers or Celtic have of prising a player away from the clutches of Atletico, Spanish title-holders and Champions League finalists? Scottish football is disappearing into a black hole and Numan believes Van Dijk may be one of the last upwardly-mobile imports we see on these shores.
"Dutch players don't view Scotland as a place to progress anymore," he stated. "Ten years ago, it was different. When I chose Rangers instead of Madrid, people said: 'Are you f****** kidding me?'
"Scotland was a good, strong league, though, the Old Firm fixture was phenomenal and it was the right decision for me."
Numan held down his place in the Dutch national squad with ease during his time in Scotland and won a whole new legion of fans with his galloping runs from left-back and his on-field influence as vice-captain.
He remains most adept at picking out a target, though, and believes Scottish football's alarming slide was merely exacerbated when Rangers were voted into the Third Division following their financial collapse in February 2012.
"When Rangers were put down to the Third Division, people said: 'Yeah, that's what they deserve'," he recalled. "I remember the Dundee United chairman voted against Rangers because he was forced to do so by his supporters and now you see what has happened within a couple of years.
"I said, at the time, that it was the end of Scottish football. Now, Hearts are not there, Hibs are down. They used to sing: 'Bring on the Hibs, the Hearts, the Celtic . . . '
"Now they have to change the words to fit in Inverness Caley Thistle and Ross County."
His former club's never-ending problems remain a matter of some concern. Like many others, however, Numan has lost interest in poring over the minutiae of one horror story after another. "I don't even know who is in charge of Rangers," he admitted. "If you asked me to name one guy who is actually in charge, I couldn't tell you.
"The board have to come out and be more open. Be honest with your supporters because they are the most important people.
"I don't want to think about what would happen should Rangers go into administration again.
"I really hope that, within the year, someone will come into the club with a lot of money and take charge, like David Murray did."
Numan saw Feyenoord bounce back from financial meltdown in 2010 by working with homegrown talent, rebuilding their team and turning that process into a serious source of revenue through deals such as FC Porto's commitment to paying €7.7m for Bruno Martins Indi, Georginio Wijnaldum's €5m move to PSV and Leroy Fer, now at Queen's Park Rangers, signing for Twente Enschede for €5m.
He feels Rangers should have considered a similar model when they were ordered to start again on the bottom rung of the ladder.
"I was hoping Rangers would give the youngsters a chance with maybe two or three experienced players and actually start growing a team, but now they have signed Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd and Lee McCulloch is still playing," he said.
"I don't know the reason behind it, but the quality in the Scottish Third Division is not high and they could have won it easily with youngsters."
n Arthur Numan was speaking at an event to launch a new four-year partnership between the Scottish Football Association and Tesco Bank.
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