Celtic assistant John Kennedy insists anyone who would deny the validity of their title is "Rangers minded".
Former Gers defender Gareth McAuley claimed he felt SORRY for the Hoops as their ninth title on the spin was won without a full 38 games being played.
But Celtic assistant Kennedy has shrugged off those claims, assuring players and staff will savour Nine in a Row.
He said: “To be honest, I don’t let what anyone says bother me.
“UItimately, the ones who come out and say that kind of thing are Rangers minded or are the opposition.
“The most important thing for us is we know what we’ve achieved is very legitimate. It’s very worthy. I know exactly how much work and effort goes into this.
“Had the shoe been on the other foot, would Gareth McAuley be saying there’s an asterisk against Rangers’ title if they had been leading? Certainly not.
“The people who say this are the people you expect to say it.
“There’s an element, too, of playing the game and saying what your support wants to hear.
“But, they can try and lift their support as much as they want, say what they like, because the reality is the trophy’s sitting at Celtic Park.
“We know the world we live in. The tension in a place like Glasgow. Emotionally, things can get wound up very easily.
“Gareth McAuley is someone who in terms of his career you’ve got to admire him. But in terms of getting involved in something that doesn’t really involve him now, it’s unfortunate.
“He’s from a Rangers background and he’s been asked his opinion, but the reality is it’s not going to affect us in any way.
“We decide what’s worthy of listening to, but all talk of asterisks and a title being devalued, it doesn’t matter to us. We’re nine in a row champions, we’ve got the trophy again.
“We’re very aware of the mud-slinging and people trying to put you off track. But we’re set on how we do things. We block out the noise. We keep things in-house and make sure we’re focused.
“Regardless of what anyone else thinks, there certainly won’t be an asterisk beside our title. It’s 100-per-cent deserved.
“For someone to come out randomly and say what Gareth McAuley has? To be honest, I don’t care. And 100-per-cent we would’ve won the league anyway.
“It’s one we’ll savour. It’s part of our history now.”
