Rangers flop ignites major coefficient jeopardy as Cyprus humbling puts top 15 place at risk

A poor week in Europe for Scottish clubs and in particular a disastrous week for the two Glasgow giants, both losing 2-1 in matches they would have expected to get something from.

It started with Celtic conceding a devastating 96th minute goal to Lazio to lose in their first home game of the European season. If they weren’t already, Rangers are a club well and truly in crisis. A meek defeat in Cyprus to a very average looking Aris Limassol side who sit fifth in their domestic table. Aberdeen’s battling 1-1 draw at home to HJK Helsinki was our only coefficient points earned of the week, but those 0.2 points are less than most countries in Europe managed to accumulate this week.

For Scotland to keep our top 10 position in the coefficient rankings (to guarantee next season’s champions direct entry into the Champions League) we need to aim for about 6-7 coefficient points each season. This is because the coefficient is calculated on a cumulative 5-year basis, and on average a total of 33.3 points has been enough to secure a top 10 spot over the last five years.

After this week’s three games, we’ve added 2.8 points to Scotland’s coefficient this season – an increase of only 0.2 thanks to Aberdeen’s 1-1 draw. It was a missed opportunity for both halves of the Old Firm, as with 0.4 points for a win and 0.2 points for a draw it was expected that Scotland would at least take the total to 3 points this week. Indeed, the poor week means we are only the 28th best performing nation so far this season, with the likes of Kosovo, Cyprus and Azerbaijan all adding more to their totals this season than we have.

While it was a dreadful week for Scotland’s coefficient, this is compounded by the performance of the countries around us in