The short version: Shakhtar remain a mathematical threat and Olympiacos are the team ahead of us for the potential 'champions' backdoor into next season's Champions League. It’s dry club-coefficient arithmetic rather than romance — we want Shakhtar eliminated and Olympiacos not to win the Greek title.
What's the backdoor spot?
There’s a reserved entry for the previous season’s Champions League winner to defend the trophy. If that winner already qualifies through their domestic league, that reserved slot doesn’t vanish — it gets reallocated. The slot can pass to the highest coefficient-ranked champion from leagues that don’t have direct Champions League group stage places. That’s where clubs from Greece, Serbia, Scotland, Norway, Denmark, Croatia and the like come into play.
Why Olympiacos matter
Olympiacos currently sit ahead of us among those eligible teams. They finished their UCL group strongly and picked up what they needed, while our European campaign added far fewer coefficient points. That combination pushed the Greeks above us in the pecking order, so if they win the Greek title they’d be the obvious candidate to take that reallocated slot — which is the outcome we must avoid.
Why Shakhtar are still dangerous
Shakhtar may be behind Rangers in the coefficients for now, but they’re still playing in the Conference League and can add points via wins, draws and progressing rounds. It would take a decent run for them to overtake us this season, but it’s not impossible. That’s why many of us want them knocked out as soon as possible: to reduce the number of clubs who can mathematically leapfrog us.
What we want — and why Celtic and Hearts aren’t a worry
Put simply: keep it between us and Olympiacos. Celtic and Hearts are well behind in the coefficients, so even if one of them wins the league they wouldn’t be the beneficiaries of this particular reallocation. It’s a bit of a numbers game rather than passion — but the outcome matters. We should be watching other countries’ leagues and European ties with the same interest we watch our own fixtures.
To be fair, it’s a dull sort of hope — wanting another side out of Europe — but that’s football maths for you. Keep an eye on Shakhtar’s progress and the Greek title race; both could decide whether Rangers get that very useful backdoor into next season’s Champions League.
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