Derek McInnes believes Rangers are still the team to beat ahead of next Sunday's derby showdown with in-form Celtic.
The Parkhead side have been reborn under Ange Postecoglou and have racked up successive 6-0 Premiership wins in a blistering start to the new campaign.
Rangers, meanwhile, have yet to find top gear but former Aberdeen boss McInnes reckons Steven Gerrard's men are still the best team in the country.
The two sides will collide at Ibrox next Sunday and McInnes has already delivered his pre-match verdict.
He wrote in the Mail on Sunday: "When you think back to two or three weeks ago, it looked as if it was plain sailing at Rangers with Celtic miles behind. It just shows you especially in Glasgow how quickly the perception can change.
"Ahead of the first Old Firm game of the season next Sunday, I still think Rangers are clearly the team to beat. It's their title and they'll work hard to win it again.
"Next week's match will be quite intriguing because they are both teams who are possession based and will have a lot of quality players on show.
" Celtic have allowed themselves to come closer to Rangers from where they were three weeks ago. That's down to the efforts of the players buying into how Ange Postecoglou wants to play and the demands put on them. The Parkhead club have a lot to be optimistic about, albeit it is still early days.
"For Rangers, Steven Gerrard said after their 1-0 first-leg win against Alashkert in the Europa League play-off on Thursday that they need to wake up.
"Players need to concentrate on their own game. There's only so much the manager and staff can demand, expect and give them the opportunity to be themselves.
"Gerrard has been more than fair to a lot of his squad. They have done well for him and they are good players. But he has told them to wake up and that he expects better.
"Players need to knuckle down, manage their own game and reach their own level.
"In turn, you'll get better levels of team performance.
" Rangers claimed a good result on Thursday after going down to ten men. They still earned the all-important win. Granted, they could have scored a few more and they would have wanted to travel to Armenia with a healthier scoreline. But Rangers have won at far more challenging places and I'm sure they'll get the job done.
"Both Celtic, who defeated AZ Alkmaar 2-0 on Wednesday, and Rangers are in pole position to qualify prior to the Old Firm game. Rangers have signed midfielder Juninho Bacuna while Celtic secured right-back Josip Juranovic and could bring in other players before that match, as well.
"An Old Firm encounter is never a formality. But all roads were leading to Rangers being the team to beat and being far too strong for Celtic. Postecoglou's men are a bit closer but Rangers showed last season, hands down, they were the hungriest and best team."
