CELTIC can make history by becoming the first team to win consecutive trebles because Rangers and the rest are so far behind the league leaders.

That was the claim last night of former Parkhead player Stiliyan Petrov, who believes his old club have years ahead of them without anyone else offering up a creditable rivalry in Scotland.

With the League Cup won and this season’s Premiership all-but clinched already, only a bad day in the Scottish Cup will prevent a clean sweep for Brendan Rodgers’s side, who have yet to taste defeat in domestic competition.

Petrov won a treble with Martin O’Neill 16 years ago and while he would like to see a bigger challenge from Rangers, in that it would make the Scottish league more competitive, he is one of the many who cannot see any way his old club can be caught.

“If Rangers don’t regroup and don’t get better and don’t start buying, which I think will be difficult to do given where they have come from and their financial difficulties, then there is big potential for Celtic to win the treble for the next couple of years,” said the Bulgarian. “I’d say it’s a great opportunity for Celtic to do it. But I hope I’m wrong and Rangers come back to push Celtic. With the money that Celtic have got, if Rangers come back and push them and make it harder, they need to go and spend again and they will become even more powerful and that’s good for Scottish football.

“Celtic are way too strong for Scottish football right now. They have top players with power and pace. They will rule Scotland for years to come.”

It is hard to find fault with Petrov’s stark assessment. Despite recent calls from Walter Smith among others for the Rangers board to spend more money, such finances are simply not there unless there is a mystery investor willing to help.

Petrov played at a time when Rangers won leagues and cups, and were Celtic’s closest rivals, and while he would like to see a return to those times, he is unsure when or if it can happen.

“Not at the moment,” he said, when asked if the gap could be closed. “Obviously they need Rangers but Rangers have shown they are off the pace, big time. I appreciate a lot of what they have done, they have come from a very difficult position and having them back in the league is great.

“I hope they get better and better because these two teams need each other, they need to push each other. What I saw in the last game was a big gap. We had Rangers who tried for 25-30 minutes to give Celtic a game. But after that it was men against boys, Celtic were too strong, too powerful, too quick. I think they are far from it. No one else will push Celtic, not Aberdeen or Hearts, anyone. No one will get close, financially and with the quality of players they are buying.”

Petrov remains hugely popular with Celtic supporters. He was part of the club’s third ever treble, which came in O’Neill’s first season in Glasgow, and he hopes today’s players enjoy the same success.

“I hope they win the treble because it would be a great achievement for every single player,” he said. “When you are a player and you win a treble it’s an incredible journey and I hope they do it.

“It’s not done yet though, everybody will try to go after them because they know they are the best and they are going to be the champions because it’s too big a gap to talk about anything else. So everyone is after them, and the cup is not like the league where it’s a marathon, so the cup will be difficult but I think they are on the right path.”