Rangers winger Sheyi Ojo will not back down and still insists he’s playing for the best team in Scotland.
The Ibrox winger ruffled feathers at the start of the season when he claimed his side were superior to eight-in-a-row Celtic .
Hoops players appeared to have the last laugh when they won 2-0 at Ibrox last month to cement their place at the top of the league.
Rangers made it five wins in a row with a 5-0 thumping of Aberdeen at the weekend as they moved to within a point and a goal of their arch rivals at the Premiership summit.
Steven Gerrard’s side have kept 12 clean sheets in 18 games so far this season as they prepare to travel to Switzerland this week for their Europa League clash with Young Boys.
Liverpool loan starlet Ojo is adamant his point of view remains valid as Neil Lennon’s side dropped their first points of the league campaign in their 1-1 draw at Hibs.
He said: “I stand by what I said and I think Rangers are on a good run of form. We are doing really well so far this season and we are looking hungry.
“It can only be a positive for any team that looks hungry and is getting wins. Of course we have to give Celtic respect but, from my own opinion, I believe we can have a really successful season.
“We weren’t really thinking about Celtic and the Hibs game before kick-off at Aberdeen, we just focused on ourselves and got the job done.
“We saw the result but as long as we keep focusing on ourselves then everything else will take care of itself.
“We don’t really worry about the other teams around us. We have just got to keep doing what we are doing and keep getting the results and hopefully we can have a successful season.”
Ojo, 21, has scored five goals this season, including four in Europe, and helped hand Derek McInnes his heaviest defeat at Dons boss - and their worst at Ibrox in 15 years.
Asked if Rangers are improving by the week, he added: “Definitely. We won 5-0 on Saturday but, if we are being really harsh, we could have scored more.
“We feel in every game we could always score more and do more, but we have just got to keep working hard.
“The staff have been amazing with all of us in training and we are a really strong bunch of lads. We really enjoy playing, especially at home with the fans and the support we are getting. Everything is going well but we just have to take it a step at a time.”
Ojo attracted scorn, particularly from Celtic fans, for his previous claims that Rangers were the best side in the country, even though they finished nine points behind the champions in the title race.
He said in July: “Towards the end of last season, I was watching some of the games. I think Rangers are the best team in the league.
“It’s one of the reasons why I came here. It is just about us proving we are the best team and doing really well this season.”
