Peter Grant says Celtic training games 'more competitive' than most Premiership and cup games

A former Celtic star has dismissed any domestic challengers to the Hoops’ crown and insisted the toughest games they face in Scotland this season will be at Lennoxtown.

Ange Postecoglou’s side lifted the League Cup for the sixth time in seven seasons with victory over Rangers at the weekend and have built up a nine-point lead over their city rivals at the top of the Premiership.

With a Scottish Cup quarter-final still to come they have a treble firmly in their sights and Peter Grant says their hardest games will come “during the week” as they steamroll their opponents on the way to a clean sweep.

The 57-year-old believes the quality running through the squad means the most competitive matches will be among each other in training as they battle for a place in the manager’s starting line-up.

Grant, who played over 400 games for Celtic during a 15-year spell at the club between 1982 and 1997, insists he is not being disrespectful to the other sides but just calling it as he sees it following a decade of domination at Parkhead.

Speaking to the BBC Radio Scotland, he said: “Celtic’s training pitch is more competitive than most of the games that they play.

“That’s not being disrespectful to anyone else – that’s fact.

“If you look at that 22-25 man squad, on that training pitch it must be really competitive if you’re going to play with the standards they are setting each other.

“That’s the way it should be. If you’re a top side then your hardest games are during the week, like at Celtic.

“If they are training properly and doing their business properly, you can see that in the way that they play.

“That tells you about the training ground ethic and the enjoyment for these boys is match day – the hard work gets done every other day.”

Celtic are preparing for a trip to St Mirren on Sunday the only team who has defeated them this season.

Since that 2-0 defeat in September they have gone 24 domestic games without losing, including 23 victories and winning the first silverware of the season.