It has been a wonderful week for Scottish football in European competition.
The success was summed-up by an explosive Thursday night at Tynecastle which saw a raucous sell-out crowd roaring Hearts on to a notable victory.
Having conceded an early goal to trail Rosenborg 3-1 on aggregate, the Edinburgh side pulled off a superb comeback, sealing their win deep into stoppage time to make it a clean sweep for the Scots against continental competition.
As the Hearts players celebrated in front of a packed stadium, their city rivals were doing likewise with their travelling fans in Switzerland.
Hibernian have made a terrible start to their Premiership campaign, and their opening ninety minutes in Europe was even worse, losing in Andorra.
But they ultimately swept Inter aside and their third round win over Luzern was an excellent achievement.
Aston Villa might just be a step too far, but the games will be two big occasions, and Hibs’ attacking threat could cause the English side a few problems.
Progression but room for improvement at Rangers
Rangers had just about kept their Champions League dream alive 48 hours earlier, but given how they had started the first leg of the tie against Servette – hardly one of the giants of the continental game – it proved to be an awful lot harder than it should have been.
The Swiss might have killed off their hopes in the first half in Geneva, and Michael Beale is going to need an awful lot more from his summer captures if they are to enjoy the kind of campaign he needs.
The Ibrox side are still a work in progress, but the early signs have not been entirely convincing, and the new arrivals have yet to make a serious impact.
That might change, the players are still very much in their settling-in period, but they will have to do so pretty quickly if Rangers are to be successful both at home and abroad.
Jack Butland is the exception, both he and Nicolas Raskin shone in Switzerland, but I do wonder if the squad Beale has assembled has the necessary quality to stop Celtic’s domestic domination.
There has been much hype about Todd Cantwell, and he did have a strong finish last season, but I have yet to be convinced by the midfielder, and his diving antics are quite simply embarrassing.
PSV Eindhoven will present a much tougher obstacle in the playoff round, and given what they have just done to Sturm Graz, I have my doubts as to whether Rangers can overcome the Dutch side.
A familiar foe lies in wait for Aberdeen next week
The Dons discovered their play-off opponents with Hacken, as expected, strolling to victory over Zalgiris.
The Swedes’ 8-1 aggregate success should come as a serious warning and it would appear likely they will be a more formidable obstacle than they were two years ago.
In 2021 a couple of late goals at Pittodrie proved invaluable as the Dons lost the away leg, but progressed on a 5-3 overall scoreline.
Barry Robson will have had them watched closely, and they will have done their homework.
Group stage football is of course guaranteed, and the Conference might indeed offer a better chance for Aberdeen to be competitive, but in terms of prestige and finance, they will want to be in the Europa League.
I can see it being a fiercely contested tie with the Dons having to hit top form if they are to make it.
SPFL Trust Trophy rethink is required
I have on a number of occasions in recent years been critical of the changes made to what is now known as the SPFL Trust Trophy, and the nonsensical decision to admit the Welsh and Northern Irish clubs.
Once again this year, that move is about to hit two of our clubs with Queen’s Park heading to north Wales to face Bala Town and Hamilton having to negotiate a trip across the Irish Sea to take on Coleraine.
Both will lose money on their ties, a ridiculous state of affairs, particularly given the financial pressures faced by most Scottish clubs.
The Challenge Cup was always a tournament I enjoyed, and it threw up some great stories and surprise winners.
The expansion in 2016, which also saw the introduction of the B teams, demeaned the competition and continues to do so.
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