Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko says that Rangers are not ready to challenge his side for the Premiership title next season, despite their Scottish Cup semi-final victory over the Hoops.

The Danish defender scored Celtic’s first equaliser on the day, and was a calming presence in their defence after replacing the nervous-looking Dedryck Boyata after just 25 minutes.

Despite his best efforts though, Rangers prevailed on penalties after being the better side for the majority of a pulsating 120 minutes of action.

The manner of the performance from the light blues has their fans excited about a possible title tilt next season, but Sviatchenko was adamant when asked if Celtic's city rivals were up to the task of challenging at the top end of the Premiership.

“No I don’t think they are,” he said.

“At some stages they played well, at some stages we played well. So it’s difficult to say, we don’t know what level they are.

“Credit to them but we need to focus on our own game and we are Celtic. And the one thing that matters is to look at each other in the eyes and say we can do this on our own, and say we don’t need to think about anyone else.”