Former Celtic star Stiliyan Petrov insists Rangers aren’t even worth of discussion in terms of the Scottish Premiership title race at the moment.
The Light Blues are third just now – five points behind their fierce rivals – with Aberdeen level on points at the league summit and behind the Hoops only on goal difference. And Petrov – who won 10 major honours in seven years at Parkhead – reckons Jimmy Thelin’s rampant Reds are the ones to consider just now.
Petrov, speaking to gambling.com, said: “Rangers are way back, they’re third. Aberdeen at the moment is the team to talk about, not Rangers. They’re far from Celtic at the moment. I think all the teams in Premiership are far from Celtic at the moment. It seems like with their performances and the way that Celtic are playing, that other managers and teams cannot find a solution.
“This is good for Celtic, but I don’t know how good this is for Scottish football. Because it seems like the clubs, and the managers, and the players, cannot find a solution to stop Celtic at the moment. And it will be interesting to see how those clubs will react.”
Bulgarian Petrov would also like to see his old club raid Pittodrie for compatriot Dimitar Mitov – despite the keeper only moving to the north east from St Johnstone in the summer. The 45-year-old said: “Mitov, who just signed for Aberdeen from St Johnstone, he’s put in some great performances. He’s a fellow countryman, a Bulgarian, so I’d maybe like to see another Bulgarian joining Celtic. We have failed to produce good players for many, many years, so seeing another Bulgarian could probably be interesting.”
Petrov will be in Aberdeen next month after signing up to join the Celtic veterans squad that will compete in the Scottish Masters and he’s looking forward to going up against former Rangers midfield rival Barry Ferguson.
He said: “I always look forward to coming across Barry Ferguson. He’s an exceptional player, he’s done really well for Rangers and Birmingham. Meeting him is always a great pleasure, but there are a few other players there too that I’m looking forward to playing against.”