Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon believes the Hoops are still “well ahead” of Rangers both on and off the field, despite the Gers earning promotion back to the Scottish Premiership.
The Ibrox outfit, who returned to the top flight for the first time since they had to start in the fourth tier following their liquidation in 2012, won the Scottish Championship title and the Challenge Cup in the recently concluded season.
Mark Warburton’s team also beat Celtic in a Scottish Cup semi-final in April before losing the final 3-2 to Hibernian last weekend.
Rangers, who played an attractive brand of football in the 2015/16 campaign, also made their mark in the transfer market after they snapped up Joey Barton on a two-year deal yesterday.
However, Lennon is of the opinion that Rangers still have a lot of catching up to do with Celtic, who secured their fifth consecutive Scottish Premiership title.
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But the 44-year-old was quick to admit that the Old Firm derbies next season will benefit Scottish football as a whole.
“It’s a big year with Rangers coming back up, but Celtic are well ahead of Rangers on and off the field”, Lennon was quoted as saying by the Herald Scotland.
“It’s been missed. The semi-final this year was a great occasion, Scottish football needs it.
"The gates that Rangers and Celtic bring will benefit all the other clubs in the Premier League as well, and hopefully they’ll be able to track a better calibre of player again.
"I’m not convinced how much investment Rangers will be able to put in the team, but Joey Barton signing has raised a few eyebrows.
“Mark’s done a great job there and did really everything that was asked of him. He’ll be disappointed to have lost the cup final obviously, but he’s got them up and they’re playing a brand of football that’s very good to watch.”
