Ibrox outfit Glasgow Rangers are struggling to keep up with Old Firm rivals Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
Joey Barton at Rangers
Celtic and Rangers are the two biggest clubs of Scotland, but at the moment the Bhoys are head and shoulders above the Gers.
Brendan Rodgers’s side are running away with the Scottish Premiership title this season and should wrap up the league title with a number of games to spare.
The Hoops’ performances and results in the league have been superb so far this campaign, and there is a very good chance that they will not lose a single match between now and the end of the season.
Those outside of the Scottish Premiership would look at Celtic’s domination and claim that football in the Scottish top flight is easy, and that the standard is very poor.
Celtic midfielder Nir Bitton, though, believes that the Scottish Premiership is more difficult than people think it is. The 25-year-old Israel international defensive midfielder has pointed out the struggles of Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar.
Barton joined Rangers in the summer of 2016, but the former Newcastle United midfielder failed to make a massive impact in the Scottish Premiership and parted company with the Gert in November 2016.
Kranjcar also moved to Rangers in the summer of 2016, but the former Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder has had injury problems and has not played as well as expected.
“There are a lot of people who look at the Scottish table and think ‘oh ok, Celtic are the best team in Scotland and they’ve no competition in this league’,” Bitton told STV. “It’s far from being true.
“Players from the Premier League like Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar came to Scotland and thought ‘yeah it’s going to be easy’. But no, it’s not easy. It’s a very competitive league.”
Niko Kranjcar in action with Scott Arfield
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