MARK WOTTE expressed an opinion or two during his three-and-a-half year stint in Scottish football.

One or two opinions were even expressed about him. But say what you like about the 54-year-old Dutchman, an audience with the SFA's former performance director is an essential part of analysing the strengths and weaknesses of our national sport.

Blessed with the eyes of an outsider yet armed with some valuable inside information, Wotte now keeps himself busy as a TV analyst for the Eredivisie, the Dutch top flight where teams now receive around £58m of Rupert Murdoch's money a season. Okay, so it isn't quite the £5.13bn over three seasons which the Barclays Premier League in England will wallow in from 2016 onwards, but it still dwarves the combined £15m Scottish football currently generates from Sky Sports and BT Sport.

As his successor in the SFA performance department, Brian McClair, prepares to take over, Herald Sport asked the former Utrecht, Netherlands Under-21 and Southampton manager for his considered viewpoint on exactly where we are heading as a nation.

HERALD SPORT: In your opinion, is Scottish domestic football undervalued and if so why?

MARK WOTTE: "Why are so many people interested in the English Premiership? It is because of the quality of players in that league. It is a historic, very attractive league with star players in all the big teams. The best players in Holland are always leaving the country at a young age, between 20 and 23. They always go to Spain, or Germany or England and I guess it is the same with the Scottish Premiership.

"It is really difficult to say whether the Scottish Premiership is a better or worse league than the Dutch league but that [£43m a year] is quite a difference. Maybe it is because Holland has produced so many more star players over the last 20 or 30 years. There might be a little bit more interest to see the Eredivisie worldwide. But in Holland we also feel we don't get enough money."

HS: TV people like to talk about 'the product'. What is your honest assessment of 'the product' in Scottish football?

MW: "In my time in Scotland, only for the first year were Rangers in the top flight. Although you see Aberdeen and Dundee United challenging Celtic once in a while, and Inverness and Motherwell have all tried to make life difficult for Celtic, everyone knows right from the start that Celtic are going to win the league.

"The best thing that could happen would be if Aberdeen and maybe Dundee United could bridge the gap. In Holland we always have the top three - Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. Then suddenly AZ Alkmaar stepped up a level, then Heerenveen stepped up, next FC Twente won the league with Steve McClaren. Now, at the beginning of the season no-one knows exactly who is going to win the league. Every time there is a battle until the last few weeks so that is excitement that is missing in Scotland.

"I see games in Scotland which are very poor quality, but I see games in Holland which are poor quality, also games in England. So I don't want to bracket the Scottish Premiership as a poor league because I don't think that is fair to a lot of clubs who want to entertain their audience. Aberdeen fans are very happy with Aberdeen so far, Dundee United fans are very happy with Dundee United. The fans of Hearts and Hibs have had their best season for years."

HS: If you had a magic wand, what changes would you make to the Scottish game?

MW: "I would go for a 16-team league. I think a Scottish Premiership, with Rangers, with Hearts, with Hibs, maybe Falkirk, four clubs which are currently in the Championship, would make it a little bit more attractive. Although it is not going to change it that much, because eventually Celtic will be the No.1 club and Rangers, when they get back at the the highest level, will be challenging.

"You could also discuss whether the play-off system they have come up with is the most attractive one. I am not sure about the split - there are more attractive play-off systems in Europe. It is already an improvement just to have play-offs but I am not sure whether they have the right formula. Maybe it is time for Scotland to go back to 16 teams in the top division, playing each other twice, with a more expansive play-off system at the end of the season. Do St Mirren and Kilmarnock get excited about playing each other four times a season?

"What do the fans want? And what do the clubs want? There is a difference. Money is important in this debate. But it always goes back to one thing - do you wear the hat of the fans? Or do you wear the hat of the clubs?"

HS: Would changing to a summer season, say March to November, help?

MW: "I am not sure that is going to change a lot. I mean, it would be nice for the fans. When the weather is better of course football is more enjoyable. There are better pitches, everyone is more comfortable. But would it really improve the level of football? Maybe Scottish clubs would be better prepared for their European qualifiers. That could definitely be an advantage but I think any improvement would be marginal."

HS: Do our club coaches show enough commitment to progressive, passing football?

MW: "Between 12 and 21 I think Scotland is quite well organised, with Club Academy Scotland, and the pro youth academies. Then you have the seven performances schools and the international youth team programmes which I intensified with a lot of games. But there is a big gap between Scotland and other countries on the continent between six and 11. That is the time where they really have to improve. There should be more facilities, more qualified coaches, more training hours, for the 6-11-year old boys and girls in Scotland.

"Where do you go if you have a seven-year-old son in Scotland? You can maybe have one session a week and a game at the weekend. In Holland, Spain and Germany your seven-year-olds can have two, or maybe even three, sessions a week, with a league game at the weekend.

"There is always the question 'are they being educated in the right philosophy?' You have the dinosaurs in Scotland who really like to play 4-4-2, kick the ball long and challenge for the second balls. But also I have seen some younger coaches now in Scotland who are embracing the 4-3-3, a passing style, with a little bit more composure on the park. The principle isn't just about winning the next game. It is about how can we play better and improve the level of our players. If you do that you will end up winning more games."

HS: You made some infamous comments about 'Burgers and Buckfast'. Are our players committed enough to their sport?

MW: "That was a general comment - that we need to be careful that our youth grow up in the right environment, somewhere it is not common that you have a bag of chips or a burger for lunch every day. Somewhere when you become 16 it is not part of your culture to start drinking beer and Buckfast. That is poison for a generation. But it was a general comment - I never said it in relation to the pro youth academy players.

"If you see the kids at the Celtic academy, they are training eight times a week between 14 and 19 years old. The SFA performance schools are the same, so you can't say that generation isn't working hard enough. They are being very well educated, how to look after their bodies, take enough rest, and get the proper nutrition. It is the wider culture I was talking about. An unhealthy lifestyle can limit your pool."

HS: Are our academies and pro youth set-ups doing enough to develop players?

MW: "When I was at the SFA we invested in Club Academy Scotland, an audit, a certification, where clubs had to open up their books and show some kind of strategy and plan there. Sometimes it was shockingly poor, sometimes it was well organised. If you went to Aberdeen FC and asked the academy manager to open up his books they were always very impressive. But if you went to some other ones they were just doing things randomly, there were no ideas or strategy behind it and still they were calling themselves academies and asking money from the SFA."

HS: Do our big clubs promote young players quickly enough?

MW: "I know that people at Celtic and people at Rangers are a bit disappointed with their outcomes into their first teams. It is maybe one player per year over the last three or four years. It all depends on your expectations. In Holland Ajax, Feyenoord, and PSV Eindhoven have three or four players a year who make the step from the academy into their first teams.

"I am pretty sure Rangers and Celtic would also be delighted to have those outcomes. But it takes a holistic approach from a club. These clubs have directors of football, who decide whether a manager is able to bring in a foreign player or go with a guy from the youth team. Academies in Scotland sometimes do an excellent job but sometimes academy coaches are frustrated that the first team manager doesn't recognise those talents. He says, 'ah, I want this guy from Israel', or 'this guy from Holland'. This is something which could definitely be improved in my opinion."

HS: Can you see the bigger Scottish clubs ever being allowed to play in the Barclays Premier League?

MW: Lots of clubs would like to be in the Premiership because they get so much money every year and that would help them establish a better standing in European football. But historically it is really hard to accept that clubs from abroad would be allowed to join. Where would it start and where would it end? Who would be allowed to go in and who is not allowed to go in? I know a club like Celtic would probably love to have that challenge, because they and Rangers have such a large fanbase. But it wouldn't be the best of outcomes for the rest of Scottish football. That is for sure."