In normal circumstances Scottish football’s peace tends towards the uneasy.

Civil war never feels too far from a surface that barely conceals the complicated undercurrents of long-held suspicions, bitterness and hostilities.

But if the last week or so has reignited an entirely fresh chapter of spiteful domestic unrest, the solutions to pour oil on troubled water will not appear too readily. And the ripple effect will permeate all sorts of calls now for the foreseeable future.

In truth, there have been no winners in what has transpired from last Friday evening. But there are plenty of losers.

On the face of it, league reconstruction may appear like the only decent and moral course of action. It staves off the threat of relegation for the likes of Hearts and Partick Thistle – both of whom nurse genuine and justified grievances that they may well have engineered their safety route to survival – but the problem is that it is far more difficult to implement than it is to propose.

Even before we get to the ludicrous 11-1 voting system which remains in place and

the fact that a bigger league will mean a dilution of the current prize money on offer with the funds divided

between 14 rather than 12,

the ramifications from that chaotic SPFL vote last Friday will linger.

Although one has to suggest that when there is a resumption of normality, it may prove impossible to get your hands on a Firhill ticket the first time they host Dundee.

Any change would require 75 per cent in favour from the other three leagues. If teams were willing to see beyond their own self-interest, there is every chance it could happen. But since when has there been any indication that clubs are willing to see beyond their own noses?

But as in all good soap operas, there is another grenade about to be tossed into the equation.

UEFA will hold another conference call with member associations next Thursday as they face pressure to come to an agreement to end the season as it is. Belgium are at the forefront of a growing number of nations who are keen to end current campaigns as they are with the expectation being that they will lobby for that end.

There will be resistance from the likes of Germany and England, who are yet to give up on the idea of some form of summer football that would kickstart a conclusion to the current campaign. But with leading virologists warning that any premature resumption could be catastrophic then it seems increasingly likely that stopping where we are is the only course of action.

That leaves the door open to Celtic being declared champions with Rangers second and Motherwell third.

If there is bitterness and frustration on the part of the Ibrox side if and when that call is made, it is entirely understandable. But equally, if there is a step back and a look at the bigger picture, the real anger Rangers have is an inward one. Had the league been as tight as it was at the midway point, the likelihood is that ending it would have been a far more treacherous call to make.

There is no genuine football fan who did not want to play the season out to a conclusion. But the fairly irrefutable evidence now is that it is an impossibility.

And ultimately there is another side of the coin, too. Football is a game of emotion, of being in the moment.

Ask any fan to recall a particular memory of moment with their team at the centre and they’ll speak of a game they were at or a game they watched or listened to.

Any team being handed the league title this way will feel a staggering anti-climax. There is no goal that formally clinches a title. No champagne corks popping in a busy, noisy dressing room, no fans to provide the playlist of celebratory song. There is no live triumph.

Celtic could have made history this season with a quadruple treble. It may well be an insignificant consideration in the far greater picture of what is going on elsewhere but the fact is that there is no-one walking away from the current situation feeling they have got something they shouldn’t have.

Dundee United’s return to the top flight has been a fairly straightforward procession this season but their crowning moment was handed over silently with no party, no frolicking in front of their own support. The same goes for Raith Rovers and Cove Rangers.

The suggestion that there are teams sneaking a title is a puerile argument at a time when the game is trying to come to terms with an unprecedented situation.

But rebuilding bridges after last week’s shenanigans may require engineering significantly beyond what Scottish football’s architects can come up with.

Tomorrow marks the 48th anniversary of Celtic playing Inter Milan in the semi-final of the European Cup at Celtic Park. On the same night, Rangers played Bayern Munich at Ibrox; 160,000 people watched those two games in Glasgow in 1972.

It says much about the effect Coronavirus may have on our psyche that the immediate thought that springs to mind is social distancing and how many people were squeezed together in such a small space. Once that realisation filters through to Westminster Bridge then we might all be ok.

It always seems trite to take a look over the shoulder and hark about the good old days when 23 Scots were playing on that stage and at that level.

The inequitable manner of broadcasting deals and how they have been moulded to the shape of the top five leagues makes it impossible to see any kind of parity in terms of football finance and a level playing field.

But, certainly, the appetite to get out to a game will be as acute as it ever was whenever the curtain comes down on this current chapter.