BILLY Connolly once offered his own unique perspective on the persistent failure of Great Britain's leading sports men and women to succeed at the highest level.

The usual theories about a lack of government funding, an inclement climate and an inferior genetic make-up didn't interest The Big Yin.

No, the legendary Scottish comedian's reasoning behind our top athletes' inability to perform on the world stage was less scientific.

"It's because the national anthem is boring," he remarked in a routine about God Save the Queen in An Audience with Billy Connolly.

"When we go to the Olympic Games we're going round with the flag and we're getting lapped. The games haven't even started yet!"

The Glaswegian, who declined to be drawn deeply into an often highly-emotional independence debate last year, is way too canny to lampoon Flower of Scotland in a similar fashion.

Connolly, an enthusiastic folk musician, recorded a version of The Corries song for his Musical Tour of Scotland album so the chances are he is, like many of his compatriots, an admirer.

Yet, a growing number of his countrymen, your correspondent included, believe such a mournful ballad has no place being played before our national football team's matches and should be replaced as a matter of urgency.

The organisers of Scotland's international friendly with Qatar at Easter Road on Friday night and the Euro 2016 qualifier with the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium eight days later, will endeavour to create a decent pre-match spectacle for supporters.

Sadly, the minute Flower of Scotland starts up whatever atmosphere has been generated will, as has been the case on numerous occasions in the past, be killed stone dead. We will, yet again, be 1-0 down before kick-off.

David Taylor, the former Scottish Football Association chief executive, famously described the song as "a bit of a dirge" and claimed the team "needed stirring up" after defeat in a Euro 2004 qualifier to Lithuania during his tenure. He had a valid point.

Since Gordon Strachan succeeded Craig Levein as manager of the national team just over two years ago, our on-field fortunes have steadily improved. His charges have enjoyed a highly-encouraging Euro 2016 qualifying campaign to date.

Scotland are level on points with Germany in second place in Group D at the halfway stage just a point behind leaders Poland. We have won three, drawn one and lost just one - to the World Cup winners away from home - of our games so far.

Flower of Scotland being played before kick-off, then, would not appear to have impeded Ikechi Anya, Scott Brown and Shaun Maloney in the slightest. That is not, though, to say a change wouldn't be beneficial.

Strachan is, like Connolly, not about to offer a divisive opinion on such a contentious topic. He rightly prefers to focus on football matters. But the word is that privately he is not a devotee and would favour something far more fun and upbeat.

In an excellent interview with David Tanner of Sky Sports before the Scotland game against England last year, he spoke fondly of attending the Euro '96 game between the age-old adversaries at Wembley alongside the Tartan Army.

In particular, Strachan recalled the build-up, when both sets of fans joined in with a rousing sing -a-long, with enthusiasm. "Rockin' All Over The World was one of the songs," he recalled. "It was absolutely fantastic."

Hearing Roy Williamson's funereal lament massacred by an inebriated crowd completely out of time both with each other and the band is very far from fantastic.

There is, despite the Scottish Parliament being informed it would be within their jurisdiction to choose one back in 2004, actually no official national anthem for Scotland. Both Scotland the Brave and Scot's Wha Hae have been used in the past. There are advocates of A Man's A Man for A' That, Caledonia and Highland Cathedral.

Personally, I would introduce I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers tomorrow. It would get the crowd on their feet, not rushing for the exits holding their hands over their ears, lift the players and be more in tune with the mentality of the majority of Scotland fans who just want to have a good time and see their team do well.

Next on the agenda after that would be making singing Doh-A-Deer an imprisonable offence under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.

AND ANOTHER THING

Having spoken for the best part of a fortnight about how the backing of their supporters in the SPFL Premiership play-off matches had been like a 12th man, why was anybody at Rangers surprised when their ticket allocations for the second leg of the semi-final and the final were restricted?

Blithely handing followers the Ibrox club as many briefs as they desired for Easter Road and Fir Park would obviously have increased their chances of success dramatically given the noises their players and manager had been making.

Hibs and Motherwell both placed the chances of their team winning - and, in turn, the long-term future wellbeing of the club - ahead of short-term financial gain of filling a stand and should not be castigated for that.