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IT used to be Christmas was the line in the sand for Scottish teams in Europe.

It was a measure of success if they were still kicking a ball in the continent after Santa had been down the lum but in recent years the turkeys have been carved up before the start of the domestic season.

Staying alive until the campaign kicks off now is cause to break out the champagne and the further our clubs have slipped into the wilderness the harder it has become to find their way back.

We’re not talking about Celtic, and before them Rangers, of course. The big two have enjoyed decent runs, occasionally even lasting longer than the Yuletide leftovers.

But the rest have been forced to feed on scraps, nibbling away in the summer months and praying for a bite.

It’s been grim at times. Coefficient has become like a safe word in an S&M dungeon or a family pet that gets kicked around once the Christmas novelty wears off.

But maybe, just maybe, our clubs are finally moving back in the right direction.

Motherwell are still on the naughty step for their behaviour last week. Getting turfed out by an Icelandic mob after being 2-0 up at home and coasting was almost unforgivable.

But St Johnstone and Aberdeen are flying the flag.

Ronny Deila touched on it the other week when he mentioned the dreaded coefficient word but the Hoops boss can’t lay the blame for Scotland’s battered reputation on the door of Tommy Wright and Derek McInnes.

Wright has worked miracles with the Saints while McInnes has polished up the Dons like an antique found in a dung heap.

What a job Del has done. He’s turned Aberdeen into a proper football club again and this year has even restored some of the former glories on the continent.

The Dons had no real right to be dumping Dutch big heads Groningen in their own backyard but by doing so he’s put Aberdeen back on the Euro map.

He’s now run into Real Sociedad. Ah. That’s what you get for years of absence from the top table and the old coefficient taking a pounding.

No one is really giving Aberdeen a snowball’s chance here. No wonder. This is a top La Liga outfit.

They beat Barcelona 3-1 last year and just flogged their star man to Real Madrid for £25million.

But there is something different about these Dons. A club that had fallen into disrepair as a rag-tag bunch of losers have been transformed into a group of fearless winners.

They might not shout about it but there’s a weird, un-Aberdeen like air of confidence in this group. They are feart of no one and the League Cup win at Celtic last season gave McInnes the blueprint of how to play against apparently better sides.

He knows how to build a red wall, complete with rapid-counter attackers that can hurt anyone. Just ask groggy Groningen.

They are stepping up another level in class in the Basque Country tonight but if they can keep the tie alive, what a prospect we would have in store for next week back in the Granite City.

There would be a full house at Pittodrie for the prospect of the kind of Euro glory night that was the norm under Fergie.

We have a long way to go but Aberdeen – and Scottish football – might just be on the way back.

Mon the Saints. Mon the Dons. Mon the coefficient.