Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers are a totally different team this season, and the Celtic boss knows it.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has told The Scottish Sun that Rangers are ‘undoubtedly’ a better team this season.
Rangers leapfrogged Rodgers’s side to move top of the Scottish Premiership on Sunday, though the Hoops, who have now won seven trophies in succession under the Northern Irishman, have a game in hand.
Celtic appear to have a genuine rival for the first time since Rodgers arrived in Scotland in May 2016, with Steven Gerrard, who played under him at Liverpool, moulding the Gers into a completely different side than they were under Pedro Caixinha.
Not only has Gerrard propelled Rangers o the summit of Scottish football for now, but the Ibrox outfit are also favourites to move into the knockout phase of the Europa League after a brilliant group-stage campaign, achieved through four preliminary ties in the summer.
That is quite a contrast to Caixinha’s side, which were eliminated in the first round of Europa League qualifiers last July.
Even Celtic fans would find it hard to deny that Gerrard has made Rangers a much more dangerous proposition, but although Rodgers admits the same, he feels the Bhoys can move to the next level as a result of the increasing competition.
“Rangers have got better, there’s no doubt. But now Kilmarnock are consistently showing it’s no fluke,” he told The Scottish Sun. “Hearts and Hibs have hit a bump in the road but they’ve been very good too. The competition is good and will make us better.”
Both sides square off at Ibrox on December 29, prior to the winter break.
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