Neil Cameron: This is Scottish football's best league since the 1980s and it's beautiful

Presents didn’t cost working families half a month’s wage. For example, the average football strip wouldn’t set Santa back £183 which is what the current Manchester United adult replica kit is going for.

Would kids today be happy with an all red gym kit, courtesy from the ASDA range, with a number seven sewn on the back and Liverpool badge on the front by their gran? Of course not. For me, it’s still the best thing to even come down our chimney.

This was, I think, Christmas 1981 and almost every present for years was football related. Subbuteo would come later, I had an trendy astroturf pitch, and there were goalie gloves, more strips, shin guards and Kenny Dalglish football boots. Puma gold, of course.

The irony of all this was that my talent was, shall we say, debatable. At least I looked the part even if my second touch tended to be a tackle. And an angry late one at that.

It was easy to be obsessed with football back then when you were Scottish. The league in the 1980s was brilliant and sadly we didn’t at the time really appreciate what we had.

Four teams, Celtic (four), Aberdeen (three), Rangers (three including the 1989/90) season and Dundee United (once) won the Premier League. Hearts should have done so in 1986.

Taking just one player from those teams; Paul McStay, Willie Miller, Davie Cooper, Paul Sturrock and John Robertson. Just five of the legends gracing our game. What a time.

No league was won at a canter. In 1980, 1982, 1983 and 1986, the title was decided on the last day. Only in Celtic’s centenary season, they won the league by ten points, was the outcome more or less known a month before the final points were tallied.

This meant that every Saturday was vitally important. If Celtic dropped points it was good news for Aberdeen, especially as Dundee United and Rangers had drawn at Ibrox. It was a proper race, sometimes involving three or even four teams when Hearts came to the party.

And, weirdly, until some bloke called Souness made his way to Govan, Rangers didn’t get involved in all of this until 1986. In fairness, they did make up for the lost years. Everyone thinks the 1980s was all strikes, bad hair, Thatcher and four million on the dole. Well, it was but Scottish fitba was dead good during that decade.

The wonderful Kevin Bridges summed up Scottish football a few years ago when explaining the events of 2012 to an Englishman.

“Essentially we had a two-horse race and we’ve lost a horse.”

As I type this before the Boxing Day games, Celtic are top having not been at their best for a large part of the reason. Rangers sit one point and a place behind with a team which the phrase “work in progress” could have been invented.

Aberdeen have only really got going this month and are third. Kilmarnock’s best team for a generation did sit top and are now fourth. Next comes Hearts, the early leaders, who at one point were missing their four best players, then this astonishing Livingston side and then it’s Hibernian, a team who can beat anyone on their day, St Johnstone in eighth are, as we all know, not to be disregarded.

Who knows what will happen today at Ibrox or on December 29 when Celtic and their 800 fans visit. Is it time for Aberdeen to beat Celtic, they face each other at Pittodrie this afternoon, and then there’s the Edinburgh derby in a few days’ time.

Every fixture is, in its own way, a big game.

As things stand, Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen or Kilmarnock could finish 2018 top of the Premiership. For years now, Celtic’s name had already been carved on the trophy by this time.

It’s an astonishing transformation from a one horse race and one which ought to be welcomes - even those whose allegiances lie at the top of Kerrydale Street.

Folks, this is Scottish football best top table for 30 years. Let’s enjoy this while we can because it’s beautiful thing. Merry Christmas.