Celtic midfielder in surprising Rangers admission as talk of Old Firm gap branded 'harsh'

Matt O'Riley has insisted that talk of a sizeable gap between Celtic and Rangers is "harsh" on the Ibrox club.

Celtic have a 13-point lead in the Scottish Premiership and will clinch the title with four games to spare if they defeat Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday. Ange Postecoglou's side also have a domestic treble in their sights with a Scottish Cup final against Inverness Caledonian Thistle to come on Saturday, June 3.

Rangers, on the other hand, will finish the season trophyless having failed to overcome their Glasgow rivals in five meetings so far this season, losing four and drawing the other, with a sixth still to come at Ibrox next weekend.

Much has been made of the current gulf between the sides, and whether Rangers can close it this summer, with manager Michael Beale promising a major overhaul of his playing squad in a bid to mount a more serious challenge for honours next season.

Celtic's Matt O'Riley in action during the Scottish Cup semi-final win over Rangers at Hampden. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

However, Celtic midfielder O'Riley played down the gap between the rivals, insisting the Old Firm fixtures have been “tough”.

Asked whether there was a significant gap between the two clubs, he replied: "I wouldn't say so. Purely because the games are always tough when we play against them.

"Obviously our positon in the table is quite a lot higher than theirs in terms of the pionts difference. Saying that, when we played them in the semi-final it was still a very tough game.

"I think it's harsh to say they are miles away from us but at the same time I think we've been very, very good this season."