FORMER Celtic striker Craig Beattie said he had to -re-read Jermain Defoe’s comments after the Ibrox club were sent crashing out the Scottish Cup on Tuesday because it was a ‘load of nonsense’.

Defoe claimed the Ibrox club was in a great place after they had just been beaten 2-0 off of Aberdeen who also dumped the same club out of the League Cup. However, that has been met by derision from people with eyes and half a brain and while we don’t know Craig personally, we can confirm he seems to be in possession of both.

The Ibrox club has been trying to spin how close they are to Celtic but Beattie hits the nail on the head about the current situation. It’s no secret Celtic have not had the best of seasons BUT they have won the League Cup, in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup and eight points clear of Steven Gerrard’s men.

“I had a read at that statement today and after I read it, I read it again.” Beattie told BBC Scotland “I’ve got to be honest, I think it’s a load of nonsense.

I’ve got a lot of respect for Jermain Defoe, but I think that statement is a lot of rubbish.

“The League Cup, they got to the semi-final stage, Scottish Cup… quarter-finals.

“With all due respect to the rest of the Scottish Premiership, Celtic are far ahead.

“This is a Celtic team who have been nowhere near as good as they have been in previous years and I still don’t think Rangers are anywhere near them.”