Si Ferry has claimed that Celtic and Rangers would give any team in England bar Manchester City a game, despite the pair's Champions League struggles this season.
Both sides of the Old Firm have seen their slim hopes of progression to the last 16 stage ended with two games still remaining, and now have a fight on their hands to avoid finishing bottom of their respective groups. Although Celtic managed to pick up a point against Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw, Ange Postecoglou's team have lost all three of their other fixtures in Group F, falling to a 3-0 home defeat to reigning champions Real Madrid and then home away to Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig.
Rangers sit bottom of Group A having lost all four of their group matches and in their Battle of Britain clash with Liverpool last week, Gio van Bronckhorst's Rangers were completely embarrassed 7-1 by their English counterparts, despite the scores being level at half time. A late hat trick from Liverpool star Mohamed Salah inflicted the Light Blues with their biggest ever defeat at Ibrox and gave them a huge reality check on the European stage.
But despite their poor performances against higher quality opposition, former Parkhead youth player and Open Goal podcast star Si Ferry is adamant that both clubs still would be able to get a result against any Premier League team apart from Man City. Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, he said: "If Celtic and Rangers had fully fit squads then they would definitely be able to compete against teams in the Premier League.
"Where the difference lies is when you look at the substitutes that Liverpool can bring on compared to Rangers. Celtic and Rangers don’t have the same quality in depth but in a one-off game, they could give anyone a game bar Man City."
Ferry, who also manages Open Goal Broomhill FC in the Scottish Lowland League, also says that he expects the Premiership title race to be tight, but feels his former club Celtic will retain the crown at the expense of their bitter rivals Rangers.
"I still think the title race will be tight" he added. "Both teams are getting good results and playing well, however, I still think Celtic will win the league purely because they have a better squad than Rangers.
"I also think that Giovanni van Bronckhorst still doesn’t know his best style or team whilst Celtic play the exact same way all the time and have the right players in to fit that style of play."
Both clubs are in Premier Sports Cup action this week, and 34-year old Ferry reckons the pressure will be mounting on Gers boss Gio van Bronckhorst should he fail to deliver any silverware at Ibrox this season.
"There shouldn’t be any pressure on Van Bronckhorst. Nobody expected Rangers to get to the group stages of the Champions League and he done a tremendous job last year and that should allow him to have the full season at Rangers with season. If Rangers don’t win anything this year then I’ve no doubt he’ll be under pressure but at this moment in time, yes he needs to sort his best team out, but he’s not under any pressure."
Ferry, who won the League Two title with Swindon Town down south in 2012, also says Celtic will have too much for Motherwell when the sides meet in the quarter final of the Premier Sports Cup tonight, although he had some words of praise for rookie 'Well boss Steven Hammell.
"Playing Motherwell away will be a tough game for Celtic, they have really impressed me since Steven Hammell has taken over. They’re very competitive, create a lot of chances and play good football.
"I don’t think it’ll be as easy for Celtic as people think but as I said before, the tempo that Celtic play at is too much for their opponents at this level and I don’t see there being any hangover from the Champions League."
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