THE upcoming week will be a momentous one for Scotland’s European representatives. With the final qualifying rounds for each of the three continental competitions scheduled in the coming days, the three Scottish teams remaining – Celtic, Rangers and Hearts – will discover their destinies, one way or the other.
Celtic, of course, have had their place in the group stages of the Champions League assured for quite some time now, thanks to the Premiership’s improved coefficient – a coefficient that has been boosted more by Rangers’ run to the Europa League final last season than anything else, as fate would have it. By being crowned champions last term, Ange Postecoglou and his players can watch on from home, safe in the knowledge that the often-perilous qualifiers don’t have to be negotiated this time around.
