Rangers defender Nikola Katic has admitted that his side have been "tormented" by Celtic's relentless form since the turn of the year.

Steven Gerrard's men looked well-placed to end Celtic's eight-year dominance of Scottish football towards the end of 2019, having beaten the champions to move within two points of their Old Firm rivals with a game in hand.

However, since the winter break Celtic have stretched that lead to 13 points, with Rangers suffering a collapse which Katic described as a "crisis".

"The end of last year was really top notch for us. We were two points behind Celtic with a game in hand. We won at Celtic Park and everything was great," the 23-year-old is quoted as saying by the Daily Record.

"But after that we got ourselves into a crisis and we have been tormented by it. Before then, when we played at home we were scoring five or six goals. After that, we started scoring fewer goals and we made mistakes in our away games - losing to Hearts and Kilmarnock 2-1 despite leading in both of them.

"Celtic, on the other hand, were really ruthless since the winter break. They played superbly and so they got away from us. We were in a good situation and so it's shame we lost it. But once the league restarts, we don't know what the other teams will be like, but we believe because we have a game in hand and have still to play Celtic twice that it is not over yet. Yes, 13 points sounds a lot, but I think we can still get into it."

Neil Lennon's side are bidding for a record-equalling ninth successive Scottish Premiership title this season.