IT'S all about the co-efficient. For the last decade Celtic have effectively been the only Scottish side doing their bit to shore up, the country's European standing.
As it stands Champion's League and Europa League entrants are playing qualification rounds within weeks of finishing their domestic season.
So when Celtic and Rangers both drew tough opposition in the Europa League group stages just finished it looked a tall order for both of them to still be involved in the competition after Christmas.
Celtic had fallen to CRF Cluj in a bizarre home loss to the Romanians on a 4-3 scoreline on August 13 with a place in the final qualifying round of the premier competition beckoning.
So it was on to Europa League qualifying for Lennon's troops with AIK lying in wait.
But there was to be no repeat of the Cluj upset.
A 2-0 home win on August 22 was followed up with a convincing 4-1 victory in the second leg.
When the draw was made for the group stage the Hoops were pitched in against strong continental sides Rennes and Lazio with Cluj – again – making up the numbers in Group E.
Many thought the French and Italian sides would be vying for top spot with Celtic and the Romanians hoping to scramble through in second.
But the unfancied sides turned the group on its head with Lennon's team having the luxury of resting a number of first teamers in the final game having secured top spot with an away win in Lazio.
Their road to a group of 32 encounter with Copenhagen included a home victory over the Italians; a draw with and victory over Rennes and a victory over Cluj before fielding a weakened team in the last game to be beaten by the Romanians on December 12.
Rangers began their Europa League journey on July 9 with a convincing 4-0 away win over Gibraltar minnows St Joseph's, finishing the tie 10-0 aggregate victors. They then despatched Luxembourg side Progres 2-0 on aggregate moving on to swat Danish side Midtjylland on a convincing 7-3 aggregate.
The play-off performance against Legia was not so comprehensive but a 1-0 overall score was enough to put them in the group stages.
It's a toss-up as to who got the toughest draw between the Glasgow sides.
While there were no French or Italian sides in store for Gerrard's men, two sides of European pedigree – Feyenoord and Porto – came out of the hat, while Young Boys of Berne could hardly be described as makeweights either.
Unlike Celtic, there was to be no time for sightseeing for Rangers.
They started with a 1-0 win over the Dutch team lost the next game to the Swiss side. A draw in Portugal made sure they were still in the mix but not certain of progress.
The second half of the group campaign was almost as tight but a win over Feyenoord and draws against the other two sides kept the Rangers supporters on their toes but ultimately earned them a tie with another Portuguese side.
And they must fancy their chances against Braga who are in turmoil at the moment.
So if either Celtic or Rangers can keep up this standard of European form, it might be about more than just the co-efficient this year.
