Why Celtic and Rangers need to boost Scotland’s co-efficient ASAP

Steven Gerrard looks on as his Rangers side defeat Feyenoord at Ibrox. Picture: Alan Harvey/SNS

If that all sounds somewhat back-to-front then it is all because different rankings are at play here. It went largely unheralded, but Uefa this week approved a new third competition, handed the unglamorous name of the Europa Conference League. Under the pretence of enlarging the number of countries granted access to group stage continental competition, it has the potential to take more than it gives for Scottish clubs.

That is down to the fact that this third tournament – which apes the group format of the untouched Champions League, with eight sections of four teams, with games played on Thursdays from 2021-22 – will reduce the number of participants in the Europa League from 48 to 32. More alarmingly, only clubs from the top 15 ranked nations will contest it. To give context to the changes, Scotland is currently 19th in the Uefa rankings. Had the Europa Conference League come into force this season, then Rangers would have started off it in it and Celtic dropped down to it (because teams unsuccessful in the Champions League qualifiers will bypass the Europa League and drop down to, effectively, the third level).

All this is the bad news. The more encouraging aspect is that the current form of Rangers and Celtic doesn’t make it impossible that they could bridge four places and push Scotland up from 19th to 15th. At an almighty push, that could even happen this season.

Here is where the No.1 ranking comes in. Scotland’s co-efficient haul for this season, overwhelmingly amassed by Rangers and Celtic’s results in qualification and their starts to their group campaigns, is currently higher than that of any other country. In no small part, it must be said, as a consequence of the Glasgow clubs being the two largest – by some margin – to require to enter first qualifying rounds.

However, as with Kilmarnock and Aberdeen, they could have had their interest ended at an early stage. Instead, they not only earned group campaigns but, courtesy of the Ibrox men’s home win over Feyenoord and their rivals’ draw in Rennes, have made starts to them that suggest they have realistic prospects of progressing to the knock-out stages.

Yet even if Rangers win in Berne against Young Boys and Celtic take care of Cluj at home on Thursday, it is unlikely these successes would be sufficient for Scotland to avoid being knocked off their perch. Not when each of the big nations have a host of teams looking to post wins, and therefore co-efficient points, this week.

However, in terms of edging up to 15th in the Uefa rankings – which is calculated by aggregating the points accrued over a five-year period – the battle of Scotland’s biggest hitters is with the representatives of the nations just above them from 18th to 15th position – Serbia, Croatia, Cyprus and Greece.

It would require Glasgow’s teams to be four wins better off than each of these countries this season for Scotland’s overall co-efficient total to outstrip this quartet. The tallest of orders, with the likelihood that both of them would need to make the Europa League quarter-finals.

They are, though, nudging Scotland’s European status upwards. The problem is they only have this year and next to break into the top 15.

Yet it is understandable for Gerrard and Lennon to celebrate the small victory of seeing Scotland top the rankings for co-efficient points earned in a single season. And refreshing for them to be working together, in a sense.

“ I’m really proud and I’m sure Neil is as well,” said Gerrard. “Obviously there is intense rivalry and rightly so. It’s the Old Firm. But at the same time all the Scottish clubs have the responsibility to try and improve the league in that area and it’s fantastic we’re doing that. It’s good for the country, it’s good for the national team, it has a knock-on effect across the board.

“Obviously in this seat it’s very difficult to park an Old Firm rivalry up, but I have got to look outside that in terms of what can benefit you moving forward and if we benefit as a club then of course it’s fantastic.”

The Celtic manager was of similar mind. “It can only help so I’m pleased about that,” said Lennon. “It’s good to get that image of the game here back on some sort of footing. We just have to keep going now. We know what our incentives and targets are. Qualification is what we want while maintaining our domestic form at the same time. At a club like this it’s always important to have European football and if we can stay in beyond Christmas then you just never know where it could take you.”

Scotland now knows where it will take them, if this doesn’t happen. A place where they don’t want to be.