The ex-Rangers midfielder believes Celtic have been sub par but will step it up a level when it is required.
Last night, Celtic crashed out of the Europa League after an embarrassing 3-0 loss away in Russia to Zenit St Petersburg.
The Hoops were unable to build on their 1-0 home win in the first leg, which saw them completely dominate the Russian giants from start to finish.
Rodgers will rue the missed chances in the first leg, and be frustrated that Celtic were unable to take more than a one-goal lead into the return fixture. But regardless of that, the Bhoys simply under-performed and did not deserve to go through this week.
Although Rangers fans may take satisfaction from Celtic’s failure, the reality is that the Bhoys will now shift their entire attention to finishing strongly in the domestic competitions, with the hopes of securing a second successive treble.
Rangers have closed the gap to nine points in recent weeks and there has even been talk of a title challenge beginning to creep in from several players and pundits.
Ferguson believes that Celtic have been cruising at times this season, and are yet to show what they are really capable of.
“We all want a title race,” the former Gers man said, “but I’m not so sure, I think nine points is still a huge gap at this stage of the season.
“Just the quality that Celtic have, I think at times this season they have played below par, but I think they’ve got gears in that team and they can go up a level or two.”
Celtic face a tough game away at Ibrox in early March, and it will be interesting to see whether the Gers can build on their strong performance at Celtic Park during the festive period and claim a milestone win over the current Hoops side.
It will be a big ask for Graeme Murty’s men, but a win and a chance to close the gap to six points would be a massive statement of intent by the Ibrox side going into the business end of the campaign.
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