BBC presenter Stephen Thompson confesses what’s ‘clear to see’ about Celtic being a ‘better team’ than Rangers

Brendan Rodgers understands that as Celtic prepare to face Motherwell at Fir Park this afternoon, he must win all three points in order to replace Aberdeen as league leaders.

The Dons left it late last night, defeating Dundee United 1-0 to move three points clear of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table and nine ahead of Rangers, who are third.

As Celtic prepare to defeat The Steelmen and Rangers attempt to close their own gap, BBC analyst Stephen Thompson was asked if Rangers can challenge Celtic for the title and how the Ibrox squad compares to Aberdeen’s.

Stephen Thompson admits Rangers ‘won’t beat’ Celtic to the title

Thompson told The Scottish Football Podcast, “Well, to answer your first question, I don’t believe they’ll defeat Celtic to win the championship. And this is not just based on the first nine games. I believe Celtic has significantly more strength and depth.

“Rangers have got players to come back that will no doubt help strengthen the squad as a whole, but Celtic are a better team, I think for me that’s fairly plain to see. Rangers’ next problem is Aberdeen.

“Obviously, they have started the season incredibly well, so they’re going to have to try and compete with Aberdeen. That’s why next Wednesday’s game becomes huge.”

How Celtic take pressure off Rangers by beating Motherwell

Celtic have their own job ahead of them as they seek to retake the league lead from Aberdeen.

However, by doing so, they may do Rangers a big service in terms of league position this afternoon.

Thompson told The Scottish Football podcast, “Well, to answer your first question, I don’t think that they’ll beat Celtic to win the league. And that’s not just based on the first nine games. I think Celtic have got far more strength and depth.

“Rangers have got players to come back that will no doubt help strengthen the squad as a whole, but Celtic are a better team, I think for me that’s fairly plain to see. Rangers’ next problem is Aberdeen.

“Obviously, they have started the season incredibly well, so they’re going to have to try and compete with Aberdeen. That’s why next Wednesday’s game becomes huge.”