ROD PETRIE feared the future was bleak for Scottish football. Now he is confident it is bright at Hampden and further afield.

As our national game stumbled into the unknown last March, Petrie was the man that had to lead from the front and take those first steps as president of the Scottish FA.

At a time of great upheaval and stress, the only certainty was that uncertainty was just around the corner. Today, the picture is very different.

Scottish football and it's clubs are not in the clear just yet as the financial damaged wreaked by the pandemic continues to take a toll across the leagues.

But as the country opens up and our stands are filled, there is reason to be optimistic of what lies ahead as the most tumultuous and terrifying months of our lives can be consigned to history.

“There was a lot of noise about that at the time, around March and April last year," Petrie said when asked if he feared some clubs might not make it through the pandemic. "We had to suspend the game on March 13 to go into lockdown.

“That's not really what you want to do as SFA president in your first year in office – to shut down the whole of Scottish football.

“But there were real concerns expressed at a number of levels that they might not make it through.

“That was the SFA's top priority and my own top priority as president to ensure that didn't happen.

“Was that a lot of pressure on me? It's just what happened, it's what everyone had to deal with.

“We've all had to face up to challenges but we have some fantastic people at the SFA.

“Mike Mulraney has been magnificent for me and the board have had to work harder than they probably thought they'd ever have to.

“I had to take some difficult decisions along the way but it's a source of considerable satisfaction that all of the clubs have made it through and are now looking forward to the new season in front of supporters."

The sight of supporters in the stands at Hampden during the European Championships this summer was the clearest sign to that point that Scotland had emerged from the darkness of Covid.

On Tuesday, Petrie was back at the national stadium to lead the SFA AGM. In a world that has yet to return to normality, it wasn't a meeting like so many of those he had attended before.

It was another move in the right direction, though, as he now attempts to oversee the recovery phase at all levels of the game and ensure Scottish football can progress united and with hope rather than fear.

Petrie said: “It's been a global pandemic which has hit almost every country in the world. And it has impacted the most developed countries the most because of the social interaction we have.

“When it hit 16 months ago, one of the things we wanted to ensure was that every club in Scotland made it through.

“There was great uncertainty about just what the financial impact would be.

“So it was good to be able to acknowledge at the AGM that every club had made it through and was able to attend.

“That's been through financial prudence at the SFA. We've used some of the resource we had, been able to get additional resources, in terms of financial support from FIFA and other steps we took.

“The SPFL and ourselves advanced money earlier to clubs than otherwise would have been the case.

“And I thank the Scottish Government for providing £30 million of financial support. Not just loans to top clubs but grants all the way down the financial pyramid.

“That came out of detailed discussions and a co-operative working relationship with those in Government, to show the need that football had – and how important the sport is to the communities it sustains.

“Also, it provides encouragement, entertainment and lifts the spirits of people at a time when we had to deal with lockdown and other restrictions in our lives."

Petrie - who was appointed as president in 2019 - has been around the game here long enough to understand the politics and rivalries, the dos and don'ts when it comes to every decision that is made.

The Association has felt the cost of the pandemic, both in terms of it's finances and it's staff, over the last 18 months and no club has been unaffected by scourge of Covid.

Petrie was dealt the worst hand possible during his Hampden tenure. He hopes, though, that positives can emerge from the difficulties as Scottish football has evolved to make the most of the situation.

Petrie said: “There has actually never been greater communication across the game. The JRG, which has senior members from the SFA and SPFL, have met daily for the best part of 16 months.

“That communication where we've had to be forward looking, putting guidance in place for clubs, has been vast.

“Covid has forced us to look at everything fresh and actually challenge what we do.

“There are some things we've been able to do better. Our coach education digital courses, for example, have been a huge success.

“Regrettably, some people are no longer working with the association but they leave with our best wishes.

“All through that Covid period, people were on furlough and took a reduction in their earnings but everybody who continued to work with the Scottish FA also took a voluntary reduction in their earnings.

“It was all to the best interests of the association and the best interests of our member clubs.

“That has forced us all to look at things afresh, challenge the way we do things and find better ways to do it.

“There will be some practices that will come out of this period and continue into the future, making us do things better for the benefit of all our members."