Broadfoot says Celtic favourites for the SPL title

Kirk Broadfoot believes Celtic are the favourites to win the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title this season and thwart Rangers' bid for three successive championships.

The Scottish champions were able to buy new players this summer for the first time since August 2008 and boosted their squad with the arrivals of Nikica Jelavic and James Beattie, as well as Vladimir Weiss and Richard Foster on loan.

But Celtic proved to be far busier in the transfer market, with the acquisition of 11 new players for Neil Lennon's first full season at the helm. Exits from both the Champions League and Europa League also mean Celtic will be able to focus fully on their domestic commitments this term, while Rangers face gruelling Champions League matches.

For those reasons, Broadfoot believes their rivals should be able to come out on top this time around, with both clubs locked on the same points at the summit of the SPL at the moment.

And, despite a seven-point gap between the Old Firm and the rest of the clubs already, he believes it is also too soon to write off the other sides in the SPL.

Broadfoot said: "There have only been five games played so far and there will be hard games away from home for us to come starting this weekend (against Aberdeen].

"Obviously the other teams are a bit behind just now, but there's a long way to go and maybe a team will go on a run like Hibs did last year.

"I think Celtic are favourites with the players they've brought in and the fact they play week to week, whereas we have hard games away in the Champions League and it's hard to lift your game, sometimes you come back and you're a wee bit flat."

Meanwhile, striker Beattie will return to Rangers squad for tomorrow's trip to Pittodrie having fully recovered from a hip problem.