SCOTLAND have taken a giant step closer to getting two clubs into Champions League qualifying - and having another representative in Europe.
Celtic’s win over Rennes at Parkhead and Rangers’ draw with Feyenoord in Rotterdam last night saw the country move up to 15th place in the UEFA country coefficient table.
Scotland now have a ranking of 26.375 and have jumped above Cyprus, who have a 26.250 ranking, thanks to the latest Europa League results.
If they finish the 2019/20 campaign in 15th position or higher they will get an extra club into Champions League qualifying and another club into Europa League qualifying in the 2021/22 season.
READ MORE: Celtic and Rangers club coefficient hits five-year high
Lennon, whose side won 3-1 to top their section for the first time in their history and make sure they are seeded for the last 32 draw next month, believes it is hugely positive for football here.
“It’s great news for the Scottish game,” he said. “Rangers have done fantastically well in their group as well to take it to the last game.
“I can’t comment on their performances because I haven’t been able to see them, but it augurs well for the image of the game. We want to get back up there and get people talking about us again.
“I go back to the scenes we saw in Rome and what it meant to the fans and the players. They got a real taste of it then and all of a sudden it really kicks in - that these are special nights and you have to make the most of them.
“You have a long domestic season where you try to win trophies. But the reward is Europe. So you want to compete and learn from it as a player.
“So to be 15th at the minute shows we’ve made really good strides in the last 12 months.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel