Martin O'Neill gets excuses in early as Rangers gain title 'advantage' over Celtic

Martin O'Neill believes Rangers have an "advantage" over Celtic in what is shaping up to be another tense Scottish Premiership title race.

Celtic were 2-0 winners at Motherwell on Sunday afternoon as they climbed back above the Gers into top spot.

Rangers saw off Kilmarnock 3-1 at Ibrox a little over 24 hours earlier to temporarily leapfrog their Old Firm rivals.

Derek McInnes' side are the team with momentum on their side thanks to six wins in a row in the league.

Celtic have dropped points just once all season, however, with that coming in their most recent home match against McInnes' men.

The title tussle looks set to go all the way again, but O'Neill appears to already be getting his excuses in.

The advantage Rangers have over Celtic

Rangers have turned their season around after a dreadful start for McInnes.

It is easy to forget the Gers crashed out of not one but two European competitions in the qualifying rounds.

That is certainly not something those high up at Ibrox will be forgetting due to the millions of pounds of income Rangers are missing out on.

If there is one silver lining, however, it is that Rangers have fewer fixtures to cram in.

That could start to tell in the coming weeks as the European competitions ramp up, with Celtic having three midweek Europa League matches over the next month.

That is something O'Neill was quick to point out after Celtic's win over Motherwell.

"I think that's a big advantage for them in many aspects," he said. "I wanted Rangers to qualify for their competition just to play the games.

"It wasn't altruistic on my part. I just wanted them to play the matches. We'll try and deal with it as best we can.

"Obviously, the most important thing for us is to stay up there in the league."

O'Neill has his excuses in already for when Celtic finish below Rangers seven months from now.

How do Rangers and Celtic's fixtures compare in October?

Neither side slipped up this weekend, so it is as you were in the title race.

Rangers again play before Celtic over the next few matchdays - including a day before over the next two.

Rangers head to Dundee, before hosting St Johnstone and then heading to Hearts.

Celtic, meanwhile, host Hearts, head to Hibernian and then host Dundee United.

O'Neill's side also take on Benfica away at Celta Vigo at home in that period.

All Rangers can do is continue getting the wins on the board and wait for a fatigued Celtic to slip up.