Scott Brown still has plenty of confidence in Celtic's ability to retain their SPL title after their season suffered another body blow.Hopes of claiming a domestic double were dashed when Aberdeen emerged triumphant from Tuesday night's Scottish Cup replay at Celtic Park, after Darren Mackie scored the only goal of the game.

The defeat leaves Celtic in the hunt for just one trophy - the SPL championship - and facing the prospect of bridging a three-point gap over a Rangers side who have a game in hand.

But, with 10 games remaining, Brown sees no reason why the Scottish champions cannot come out on top once again.

"What happens with the league title is up to us," insisted the midfielder.

"There's more than a quarter of the season to go and, if we win every game, we win the league.

"I know that sounds simple, but it's the situation we're in.

"All the boys know that and we're determined to finish with a bang and make sure that it's us who are celebrating come the end of the season."

Dundee United dented those hopes by earning a goalless draw in the east end of Glasgow in Celtic's last league match but Brown insists the focus must turn to this weekend's clash with crisis club Gretna instead.

He added: "The Dundee United game was a massive blow for us, especially because we had so much of the ball and a lot of the pressure.

"But we need to forget about that and look to the future.

"We've got a lot of match-winners in our squad, like Naka (Shunsuke Nakamura) and Aiden (McGeady), and I'm confident about our chances of winning the league."

Celtic's title credentials will be tested when they visit Ibrox at the end of the month hoping to avenge the 3-0 defeat they suffered at the same venue back in October.

"We've got a point to prove," Brown told the Celtic View.

"We need to go out there and beat Rangers and show that we are aiming to retain the title.

"Since that last game the team has changed a lot and the manager will have a lot more options than he did that day.

"Hopefully, he will be able to field the team he wants and we can go out and do the business.

"With nine points up for grabs, the derbies are going to be vital and we want to get off to a good start by winning at Ibrox."

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