Alistair Johnston insists Rangers title threat is real despite Celtic showing rivals who the boss is at Hampden

Alistair Johnston insists Celtic showed who is still boss at Hampden – but the Hoops hero won’t write off the title threat from Rangers.

The Parkhead men got the better of their fierce rivals at Hampden on Sunday to claim the Premier Sports Cup after an epic clash and dramatic penalty shootout. Johnston has now set his sights on a domestic clean sweep and he’s convinced the psychological blow landed on Gers at the National Stadium will give them a major boost in the Premiership push.

Celts are 11 points ahead of the Ibrox club – and nine in front of Aberdeen – going into a hectic festive week – with the Old Firm set to collide again in Govan on January 2. Johnston – who is a fitness doubt for Dundee United on Sunday after playing through the pain barrier in the Final – is looking to kick on in the coming weeks and hammer home the advantage.

When asked if landing the first trophy reasserted Celt’s dominance, he said: “It definitely doesn’t hurt. Domestically there’s three domestic trophies available and you want to win all three of them. That’s always our aim at the beginning of every season and winning this one definitely helps cement the start that we’ve had to the season.

“It’s been very strong domestically and now it gives us everything to play for. We’ve had a great start in the league and now we can continue to kick on from that, and hopefully it takes a bit of pressure off knowing we’ve already got that first trophy in the bag and we can play a bit more free.

“It’s interesting having this trophy before the new year even hits. It’s always nice to get this one in the bag so you can bank that one for the end of the season and have the confidence to know we’ve already got one, now can we go get another, and another