Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers finished 39 points behind Celtic last season.
Rangers chairman Dave King has told The Glasgow Evening Times that Celtic aren’t as far ahead of the Gers as they probably should be, in football terms.
Celtic finished a whopping 39 points ahead of their bitter Old Firm rivals last season en route to a domestic treble, which they achieved without losing a single match.
It was Rangers’ first season back in the top flight after what King says was four years “in the wilderness” and the Ibrox club finished third, also behind Aberdeen.
The Bhoys obviously capitalised on the Gers’ absence from the big time and have won six Premiership titles in a row, but there was also two years without Champions League football under Ronny Deila’s tenure at Parkhead.
Nevertheless, King claims that the Hoops could and should have done more in that four-year period, also suggesting that Rangers will bridge the gap to Celtic’s quality this time around.
“I think realistically running Celtic close would be good. They are coming off a high and it will be difficult for them to repeat what they did for obvious reasons,” he told The Glasgow Evening Times.
“In footballing terms, I don’t think Celtic are as far ahead as they could have been – certainly with our new signings.
“Given that we were in the wilderness for four years I don’t think that Celtic did as much in that four years as they could have done.”
Nevertheless, King also acknowledges the fact that, in terms of squad, Rangers are clearly behind Brendan Rodger’s side, but does not expect the Ibrox outfit to trail their local enemies by the same amount of points next time around.
“We are clearly behind them squad-wise but I really would expect to give them a run. You never know how the season is going to go and I certainly don’t expect a repeat of last season,” he added.
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