Former Rangers defender John Brown has dismissed Aberdeen’s Premiership title bid under Derek McInnes, insisting only Mark Warburton’s Light Blues side can challenge Celtic for the silverware.
Brown claims Rangers’ promotion to the top flight means there is now a genuine title race in the Premiership, something he believes has been sadly lacking during the Light Blues four years spent in the lower leagues of Scottish football.
Brown has also dismissed the Dons’ last two runners-up finishes, insisting the Reds had no chance of winning the title due to their inferior budget to the Hoops.
He said: “Forget Aberdeen. Derek McInnes has done a great job but he’s not got the budget to really take it forward.
“Celtic have downsized the last couple of seasons. They cashed in on their big players because Rangers weren’t in the top flight.
“There was only ever going to be one winner of the league when Rangers were in the lower divisions and that was Celtic.”
Brown, a Light Blues club ambassador, believes the Hoops have only appointed former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers as Ronny Deila’s successor at Parkhead as they are fearful of Rangers’ ending their hopes of winning 10 league titles in a row.
Deila steered Celtic to their fifth straight championship before departing Glasgow last month and Brown expects Rangers to emerge as the only serious rival to the Hoops’ dominance in the new campaign.
He said: “I don’t think it’s just me who is excited about next season, it’s the whole Rangers support. The new manager came in and did well last year and he’s has already started adding to the squad for next season.
“I think you can see by what Celtic are doing across the city, bringing in Brendan Rodgers, they must be really worried by having Rangers back in the Premiership.
“I think Celtic have brought in Brendan Rodgers because they see a real threat in Rangers.
“Celtic supporters are looking to make it 10 in a row, which I don’t think they will achieve. Rangers have been out of the league for a while and it’s been pretty easy for Celtic.”
Brown, who was part of the Rangers nine in a row title winning run of the late 1980s and 1990s, regards the close season signing of midfielder Joey Barton as a signal of intent at Ibrox and is pleased by the response of the support.
He said: “He will give Rangers a bit of steel that perhaps was lacking last year. He will bring stability to the dressing-room and the right experience.”