Derry City and Shelbourne enter the UEFA Cup qualifying round this week with perhaps a little more attention on them negotiating problematic ties against APOEL Nicosia of Cyprus and Slovenians Olimpija Ljubljana respectively after Bohemians' reality check in losing the return leg of their Champions League second round 4-0 to Rosenborg last week.

Expectations that Bohemians would run Rosenborg close over two legs were clearly misplaced.

The fallout from the 5-0 aggregate defeat begs the question: how far the National League has progressed in recent seasons? Had we assumed the switch to summer soccer and several clubs, including Bohemians, effectively going full-time, had made such a significant difference already?

The failure to get any closer to making that crucial breakthrough to the Champions League group stage proper is holding us back. While only misguided optimists would have expected Bohemians to beat Rosenborg, the consensus was Stephen Kenny's side were not expected to get such a hiding at the Lerkendal Stadium.

It can be argued the tie was over at that stage, but many watching won't have been at all pleased at how easily Rosenborg overran a side that carried the hopes of the senior game here on its shoulders.

Granted, the Champions League draw was unkind to Bohemians. BATE Borisov, like Bohemians and Rosenborg, are midway through their season and were not easy first qualifying round opponents.

An excellent second leg performance at Dalymount, in which Bohemians won convincingly 3-0, perhaps threw up false expectations that a side of Rosenborg's calibre and, crucially, experience at this level, could be beaten over two games.

The point is Rosenborg have been regarded as a benchmark for clubs here, coming from a country of similar population, size and football background. Bohemians losing so heavily to them was not in the script.

Three years ago, representatives from Shelbourne returned to Trondheim to assess how Rosenborg's methods could be copied here after the Norwegians had also beaten them convincingly.

But good organisation and coaching aside, there is no real secret to Rosenborg's success. It is fundamentally based on finance - lots of it.

Their initial success in reaching the Champions League group stages in its formative years and the financial windfalls it brought have allowed Rosenborg maintain what is effectively a league of their own in Norway.

A 12th championship title is well on course while Deportivo la Coruna stand in their way of a record nine successive appearances in the group stages of the Champions League.

What makes Rosenborg so interesting is they have proven to be the role model for clubs from smaller nations in achieving and maintaining the goal of regular Champions League football.

Even to a club of Rosenborg's stature - they are considered minnows in the Champions League pond, remember - qualification for the Champions League group stage is worth up to 7 million, even before bonuses for results and home gate receipts are added.

Quite simply, used well, that finance is the key to Rosenborg's relative success, a fact recognised by Bohemians manager Kenny.

"When Rosenborg took us apart it looked like they were so much better than us and people ask how will we ever get to that level. It's not only to do with finance, but ultimately finance is the major player," he said.

"By getting to the group stages over the last eight years they have got serious money from it. That has been reinvested in their stadium and they have also bought up all the top players in Norway."

As Kenny also acknowledged, the only sure-fire way of being able to emulate Rosenborg is to make that quantum leap and somehow - a favourable draw would help - get a team into the group stage of the Champions League and then use the finance it generates to keep in contention to stay there.

Such is the competitiveness of the National League, a team is not going to dominate for any length of time unless they have the hugely superior financial clout to do so.

Whether that elitism, should it ever come about, for Bohemians, Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers, Cork City or whoever, would be good for the National League is a matter we would perhaps gladly wait to discuss another day.