AH, but does he know Scottish football? A phrase heard often, and one which both elevates our game to a status so unique that no outsider could possibly succeed here, and demeans it by the same token.

It is a notion which assumes Scottish football too madcap, too demanding, too low on quality on the pitch for anyone born outside these borders to truly understand. It is also patently nonsense. But it is again being muttered with soul-destroying frequency when discussing the runners and riders for the vacant Celtic managerial and director of football roles.

Let’s take Matteo Tognozzi, the Juventus head of scouting, who has stated this week that he would be interested in coming to Celtic for the second of those positions.

Tognozzi has a sporting director’s licence, obtained (with Honours) after going through an intensive Italian FA course, at the end of which he produced a meticulous 60-page dissertation outlining his footballing philosophies.

The Juventus head of scouting has extensive experience not only in his current role with the Turin giants, but across European football with the likes of Zenit St Petersburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

It was while in Russia and Germany that he operated under a transfer philosophy that relied on the early identification of talent, the cut-price acquisition of that talent, and the subsequent healthy return on that talent down the line for his clubs. Sound vaguely familiar to a strategy you may have heard of?

Not only that, but he operates now at a true behemoth of the European game, who consistently maintain their status among the top 10 clubs on the continent while boasting a budget dwarfed by competitors from England and Spain. A club where there is enormous pressure to win every game.

Ah, but does he know Scottish football? Frankly, it doesn’t matter. The “Wha’s like us?” attitude which presumes the demands of the Old Firm or succeeding in Glasgow are unique is a fallacy.

Tognozzi has shown in the past that he is able to adapt to new cultures and new leagues, delving into his personal database to find players best suited to the particular demands of the country he finds himself in. At Zenit, for example, he identified players with "personality and physical strength" who would be able to cope with the rigours involved in a gruelling Russian season. At Hamburg, under huge financial constraints, he identified players suited to the “fast and direct” style of the German game, so he has demonstrated his ability to adapt his model to his environment.

Former Celtic midfielder and assistant manager John Collins has thrown his hat into the ring for the position, and there is no doubt that that he is bang up to speed with the inner workings of the club, and he possesses a wealth of experience as a player at the top level.

While he has declared that he ‘has the skillset’ for the director of football role though, his expansion on that point seemed to centre upon a criticism of Ross Wilson, who holds the director of football role at Rangers, for his lack of footballing ability.

"I could be wrong, but I think Ross is more of an organiser behind the scenes with databases and things like that, which bring in a cluster of players,” Collins said.

“I’d like to know how he knows a top quality football player. He hasn’t played football at any level at all.”

A phrase which grates almost as much as the one which opened this article, and is equally as irrelevant when considering the job at hand.

A lack of exposure to the game here has been used as a stick to beat some of the prospective successors to Neil Lennon too, who let’s not forget, knew the Scottish game like the back of his hand.

Tognezzi’s compatriot Enzo Maresca has had his own suitability for the managerial role questioned on similar grounds, and while there may be legitimate concerns over the Manchester City under-23 coach’s inexperience in management at the senior level, his inexperience of a cold, wet Wednesday night at New Douglas Park shouldn’t come into the conversation.

Whether the Italians are set to team up at Celtic Park remains to be seen, with Maresca’s colleague at Manchester City, Fergal Harkin, featuring as prominently as Tognozzi in the conversation surrounding the director of football position.

The Irishman is currently City’s football partnership’s manager, having been a part of the scouting operation at the Etihad since 2009, where he oversees the club’s vast loan operation. His experience in developing players and his extensive contact book – City have as many as 40 players out on loan all over the world every season – are the factors that are of likely interest to Celtic.

The most important thing, particularly for Celtic given they are embarking on a journey to modernise their footballing operations, is not whether their prospective sporting director knows his Fir Park from his Firhill, but that he can drag Celtic’s recruitment processes and planning into the 21st century.