Former SPL chief Roger Mitchell reckons Rangers have secretly already accepted that Celtic will win the title this season.

Coronavirus has caused a worldwide shutdown of football leagues with the SPFL and SFA following suit and locking down Scotland's four top leagues.

The indefinite delay in completing the competition has led to fears among a Celtic contingent that the governing body could opt to declare the season null and void despite the Hoops' 13-point lead at the Premiership summit.

It has also been discussed by pundits across the country that Neil Lennon's men could be crowned champions despite not yet finishing their fixture list.

Mitchell, though, believes that Celtic WILL win the league and Hearts will be relegated as they currently lie at the foot of the table when all is said and done.

That, according to Mitchell, is why the Jambos have asked their staff to take a whopping 50 percent pay cut. "Here's where I think we are today," he told the Scotsman. "Uefa want the domestic leagues restarted by the end of April but I know a lot of football people around Europe and that’s total fantasy.

"The thing is, the leagues know this, so we are in this phase where everyone is pretending there will be a finish.

“What my friends are saying to me is that at some point Uefa or the national governments will instruct the football bodies to call an end to 2019-20.

"This will be done. The season will not be null and void. Promotion and relegation will be decided.There’s a formula for ascertaining likely points totals but I don’t think in Scotland this will change anything: Celtic will be champions and Hearts will be down."

Mitchell went on: "I don’t think Hearts will [take legal action]. I think Hearts have accepted the situation, which is why they’re making these cutbacks.

"And I think Rangers have accepted it too, although they won’t actually say this. My understanding is that Scottish football has pulled together and realised this is a black swan moment, a total crisis, and that it’s time decisions were made with clear heads and not passionate hearts."