Celtic: Leigh Griffiths critical of Dave King's 'ludicrous' gulf claims

Leigh Griffiths helped Celtic win the domestic treble

Leigh Griffiths has described Rangers chairman Dave King's assertion that Celtic should be further ahead of their rivals as "ludicrous".

Brendan Rodgers' side won the treble in 2016-17 and dropped only eight points in the Premiership - finishing 39 clear of their Old Firm rivals.

"The gulf couldn't be any bigger," said Celtic striker Griffiths. "They'll be trying to bridge the gap.

"But for him to come out and say we should be further ahead is ludicrous."

• Scottish Premiership fixtures announced

King, quoted in various newspapers this week, suggested Celtic should be further ahead given that Rangers had been "in the wilderness for four years".

However, Griffiths said: "If you said to someone at the start of last season that Rangers would be 30-odd points behind Celtic at the end of the season, you'd be raging.

"What was the gulf? 30-odd points. How does he expect that to be bigger? They were touting at the start of last season that they were going to win the league and this and that.

"Joey Barton was coming up and saying he was going to be the best player in Scotland - he lasted a few months.

"In the first [Old Firm] game, they got hammered 5-1 and they got hammered 5-1 at the end of the season.

"So, the gulf couldn't be any bigger. This season, they'll be trying to bridge the gap.

"We just want to concentrate on our job and our job is to defend our title. And if we do that, we'll have no qualms about it.

"Ultimately it's about what we do and if we are at our best nobody in Scotland can live with us."

Celtic open their Scottish Premiership defence at home to Hearts while Rangers travel to Fir Park to take on Motherwell.

Joey Barton spent a short spell at Rangers before returning to England