CalMac being fined millions of pounds for poor performance is a nonsense as the blames lies entirely with ministers for poor planning, argues Herald columnist Alan Simpson

Former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers got himself in a right pickle earlier this season when her used a car analogy to describe the shortcomings of his team.

Following a defeat to Dundee, Rodgers moaned that “there’s no way you’ll go into a race and be given the keys to a Honda Civic and say, I want you to drive it like a Ferrari”.

Quite what the ex-boss had against Honda Civics is not quite clear but it was a clear dig at Celtic’s board about what he saw as a failure to significantly strengthen the team.

Regardless, Rodgers didn’t survive the pop at the board and he was sacked after, presumably leaving his club car behind, presumably not a Honda Civic.

But while some fans may agree with his moans, what would Rodgers make of being in charge of ferry operator CalMac for a year and see how it gets on.

Given the state of the network, CalMac would probably welcome something as humble as a Honda Civic to help plug gaps caused by duff boats.

And while Rodgers can only be punished with the loss of three points. CalMac has been fined £20m over the past decade for failing to meet performance standards.

Who fined them that you might ask - well, only the quango that got them in the mess in the first place by not ensuring the fleet was upgraded quickly enough.

You would think therefore, that Transport Scotland might have gone a bit easy on them given it is ultimately their fault, but apparently not.

© Herald Scotland