The Celtic and Rangers factor holding them back in Europe as Premiership outsider reveals why he believes they fall short

Rene Meulensteen fears Celtic and Rangers are being hampered in Europe by the lack of competition in the Scottish Premiership.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s former Manchester United assistant coach, who this week revealed he held talks over becoming Rangers manager, lifted the lid on his experience of watching games in Scotland’s top flight as he checks out the Premiership’s Australian contingent in his role as Socceroos No. 2.

And the Dutchman, speaking to BoyleSports who offer the latest SPFL odds, said: "I go up to Scotland a fair bit because obviously there are quite a few Australian players there. We've got players playing for Hibs, we've got players playing for Hearts, we've got players playing for Motherwell and Dundee. Obviously a few years ago we had Aaron Mooy for Celtic who was an outstanding player, absolutely fantastic. Every time I have visited Celtic Park or go to Rangers or any other club, it's vibrant.

"Sometimes Celtic and Rangers are held back by the league they play in, they could hit much higher levels if they had better opposition week in week out and I think that is why they have fallen short in Europe. They don't meet that kind of opposition and suddenly they get hit by much stronger teams from abroad.”

The 60-year-old has worked all over the globe and had six years at Old Trafford. And he said: “In terms of myself, I've got these two years ahead of me as Australia assistant and hopefully we expect to qualify for the World Cup again. I thought that was a brilliant experience in Qatar where my career started so many years ago and I'm looking forward to the one in America.

“After that… I’m keeping my options open. I've obviously got bags of experience, which will help. A Lot of clubs sometimes go for