John Kennedy insists Celtic still have the best squad in the country and used the last two games against Rangers as evidence of that.
Celtic might have taken just one point from the two matches, with Rangers winning 1-0 at Ibrox in January and it finishing a 1-1 draw at Celtic Park last month.
But on the back of a 6-0 win over Livingston on Saturday, Kennedy is confident that his side can come out on top when they meet at the Scottish Cup next week.
The interim Hoops boss admits it has been a tough season for his side but reckons he's never lost the belief that they are the best team in Scotland, despite the massive points gap in the table.
Steven Gerrard's side are 18 points clear with a game in hand - against Hibs at Ibrox on Sunday - but Kennedy is confident they will bounce back.
He said: “I have full belief in the squad we have here, that on our day we are still the best team in the country. One hundred-per-cent. That’s the reaction you have to have. There was always going to come a point where we had a setback.
“It was a big one for us this season but the best always bounce back. It’s easy to give up and say ‘oh, we’ve had our time’, but I have said it to the players, it is very much about how we respond to that.”
Celtic were in control at Ibrox in the early stages and Rangers had Allan McGregor to thank for keeping the scores level in the first half - although the Hoops didn't have a shot on target after 25 minutes.
Nir Bitton's red card then turned the game on its head and Celtic were also on top during the 1-1 draw in March after Rangers had already won the league.
And Kennedy added: “I think the last game and the 60 minutes at Ibrox we showed that. From my point of view in terms of our level of performance, how we can play and create, there were a lot of positives.
“We just have to be much more clinical at the top end and not be switching off at set-pay moments. That’s been the outcome of the games recently. We will be fully focused on that and we will try to build our performances.
“Our level of performance against Rangers was good, I thought it sent a message that the gulf is not as big as everybody thinks it is. But ultimately it does come down to results so we want to take that one step further.”
