As reported by The National, Celtic's Leigh Griffiths believes Rangers chief Dave King is talking nonsense with his recent comments about how far the Hoops should be ahead of the Ibrox club.

What's the story?

The new season hasn't even started yet and already Celtic and Rangers are dominating the headlines with a war of words that's sure to get fans chatting feverishly.

The Hoops of course are in buoyant mood after an unbeaten domestic season that saw them pick up all three trophies available to them Scotland and finish a massive 39 points ahead of Rangers.

That gap is not big enough though, according to Dave King.

As quoted by The National, the senior Rangers man said:

Given that we were in the wilderness for four years I don’t think Celtic did as much in that four years as they could have done. We are clearly behind them squad-wise but I really would expect to give them a run.

However Leigh Griffiths is having none of it and hit back, slamming King's comments as ludicrous and insisting that the gap between the two clubs could not be any wider than it is right now.

As quoted by The National, the Celtic striker said:

What was the gulf, 30-odd points? How big does he expect it to be? The first game they got hammered 5-1, they got hammered 5-1 in the last game of the season. The gulf couldn’t be any bigger. They will be trying this season to bridge the gap but for (King) to come out and say we should be further ahead is ludicrous really.

Strong words there from the Hoops striker but you can't really argue with his logic. With Rangers out of the top-flight, Celtic have won every league available to them and recruited lots of young, exciting talent that are currently wowing fans on a consistent basis.

Until Rangers start to close the gap on the pitch, jibes at the Hoops off the pitch are going to feel very hollow indeed.