Former Rangers defender Hugh Burns has blasted John Hartson's suggestion that Celtic are light-years ahead of the Gers.
Rangers will be in the Scottish Premiership next season, alongside Celtic, after winning the Scottish Championship title in impressive style this term.
Mark Warburton's men also stunned Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final, running out winners over the Bhoys on penalties and booking a date against Hibernian in the final, in which they were edged out 3-2 at Hampden Park.
Hartson feels that Celtic are well ahead of Rangers, but Burns says there is no way he can agree with the former Bhoys striker.
And Burns feels Rangers have improved dramatically over the last 18 months, which means there is not a big gap between Celtic and themselves.
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"John Hartson said they are light-years ahead of us both on and off the park – I don't see that at all", Burns said on Rangers TV.
"They are just not light-years ahead of us.
"Within the space of a year, 18 months, we've come miles and miles and miles, very, very quickly, within our budget and within our means", he added.
Celtic and Rangers will come face to face on a regular basis next season. The Bhoys, who will be aiming for their sixth top flight title in a row, are under new management in the form of ex-Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.
However, while Rodgers will have to juggle domestic commitments with European football, Rangers will have only the domestic front to focus on.
