James Murray

Wed 22 November 2023 22:24, UK

Erik Sviatchenko believes there is still a “big difference” in quality between Celtic and Rangers this season.

Speaking on the PLZ Soccer YouTube channel on Wednesday (22 November), the former Hoops defender said his physical coach at Houston Dynamo is a Gers fan and that he regularly talks about Scottish football with him.

The 32-year-old added that the pair have banter about there only being one club in Glasgow, but he maintains that the Parkhead side are still better than the Light Blues despite their recent resurgence under Philippe Clement.

“My psychical coach over here is a Rangers fan so it’s always fun to talk about Scottish football a little bit with him,” said Sviatchenko. “He said ‘there’s only one club in Glasgow and it was blue’ and ‘I said of course it was green and white’ so it just goes back and forth.

“He comes back with ‘have you heard there is a new player signing, oh and they won this weekend’. I say yeah but there is a big difference in my opinion.”

Time will tell

It’s true that there was a relatively big difference between the two sides over the past couple of seasons as Celtic won the title in relatively comfortable fashion.

The eight-point lead the Hoops currently have at the top of the SPFL might suggest that the gap is only getting wider, but that was built up while Michael Beale was in charge and the club were definitely going backwards.

There is renewed hope under Clement, however, after he has picked up six victories in his opening seven games in charge at Ibrox.

It’s no surprise to hear a former Celtic player talking up the advantage they share over the Gers, but there is an awful long way to go yet this season.

The new Light Blues boss will be keen to show that he can challenge for the title during this campaign and he’ll be looking to put his side in the best position to come out on top when the next Old Firm game comes around.

In other Rangers news, a Champions League club are looking to sign one Ibrox star.