Barry Ferguson has responded to Scott Brown's claims that the Scottish Premiership title race is over already, insisting Rangers are still right in the mix.
Former Celtic skipper Brown appeared in the press this week where he discussed the importance of the derby day victory for Brendan Rodgers' side on December 30.
Ferguson agrees that the game at the turn of the year was a big one in the title race, but he is not ruling out his former side just yet, especially given they have two games in hand over their rivals.
He wrote in the Daily Record: "I'll say this about Scott Brown – he was always up for a laugh.
"And, true to form, my old Scotland team-mate gave me a chuckle when I picked up my Daily Record on Thursday to discover he has declared the title race as good as over already. I don’t know if this was just Broonie being a wind-up merchant because he does enjoy getting under people’s skin. Or maybe he really believes it. He’s a former Celtic captain, after all, and doing his talking from the other side of the fence. Which is fair enough.
"But, if that’s the case, then he’s only kidding himself on. I’m not writing this with my blue-tinted specs on either. And I’m not trying to make headlines for the sake of it. But I firmly believe this top-flight battle is going all the way down to the wire and anyone who thinks it’s done and dusted already needs to give themselves a shake. Yes, I admit, I’d rather be in Celtic’s position at this midway point. As I always said as a player, I much prefer to have the games played and the points on the board. But, with Rangers having two games in hand, it’s impossible to say that it’s all over and to really mean it.
"Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticising Broonie for talking Celtic up. It’s only natural that he’ll take their side the same way as I do with my old club. But, come on man, this thing is wide open and everybody knows it. My honest opinion is it’s impossible to predict how it’s all going to end up. I do fully expect Rangers to win those games against Hibs and Ross County and cut the gap at the top to two points."
