The danger signs are flashing as Celtic speed towards the end of the first quarter of the SPL championship.

Manager Tony Mowbray has warned his players to take heed.

The Parkhead side want to head into the break for international matches with their three-point lead at the top of the table intact. To achieve this, Mowbray acknowledges his players must go to bottom club Falkirk tomorrow, just three days after playing Hamburg in the Europa League, aware of the potential pitfall awaiting them.

He explained: “We expect a tough challenge and it’s going to be very much a dangerous game for us.

“I tell the players these are dangerous games, and you need only look back at Hamilton. We were doing well, then all of a sudden they scored and we were hanging on. Lukasz Zaluska had to make a great save to make sure we got the three points.

“So we go to Falkirk expecting just as tough a game as we got at Hamilton two weeks ago.

“We won 4-0 at Falkirk in the League Cup and that will heighten their determination to make sure we don’t repeat that feat. But the club faces these challenges every single week.”

Mowbray will check on the mental and physical condition of his players post-Hamburg before naming his side to play at the Falkirk Stadium.

Zaluska’s name is already down on the team-sheet as Artur Boruc continues his recovery from knee surgery. Following his display on his European debut on Thursday, Mowbray believes the position is in very safe hands, and Boruc will be given as long as he needs to return to full fitness.

The manager said: “It’s a great credit to Lukasz that he chose to come to this club knowing Artur was here and that he’d probably have to be patient.

“They know each other very well. The chemistry between the two of them on the training ground is a very positive one. Artur is very supportive of Lukasz, and vice versa.

“I’m sure Artur would have been sitting back in Glasgow on Thursday watching Lukasz’s performance and been genuinely pleased for him. They are friends as well as colleagues and the relationship is a good one, which keeps Artur on his toes.

“Lukasz’s performances now give me the opportunity not to have to rush Artur straight back in when he has recovered from his operation.

“If we feel he needs longer, we can take that time with him. I’m sure Artur would understand that and be pleased for his friend and colleague.”

Zaluska’s confidence will have been boosted by consecutive clean sheets against Kilmarnock and Hamburg.

Mowbray acknowledged the important part the keeper and defence in general played in earning a draw in midweek, and is grateful the door to the knockout stages was not slammed in their face.

He said: “We still have to try to get out of this group. The way the games have fallen for us, it’s going to be very difficult. But all we can try to do is win our last two games, against Hapoel and Rapid.

“If the game on Thursday had been the first in the group, I’d have been pretty happy. We’d have come away from facing the No.1 seed in the group with a draw.

“But there is disappointment that we didn’t win. We had two or three one-on-ones with the Hamburg goalkeeper.

“If we’d managed to slide it through his legs or past him, we could have won by more than one clear goal.”

Mowbray is expected to introduce some fresh legs against Falkirk. But that’s more with regard to how hard his players worked in Hamburg.

Gary Caldwell has been one of the men left out already this season, jettisoned to the bench for the defeat at Ibrox, but he accepts it is the manager’s prerogative to pick whoever he believes will best serve the team on any given day.

He said: “The manager picks the team according to what he thinks, and it’s not really for me to comment on how he chooses to rotate any of the squad. It’s not difficult to slot in with whoever he picks. On occasions I’ve played with Mick [McManus], and in the last two games I’ve been back with Glenn [Loovens].”

The pairing worked well to thwart Hamburg, though Caldwell accepts Celtic still have a way to go in that arena. “We’re top of the SPL, but I’ll admit that in Europe our form has been a bit patchy, so there are things to be worked on,” he reflected.

“The main thing we need to improve is our composure on the ball. We need to take the sting out of games a little bit more and dictate the flow of a match.

“We’re top of the league, and if that’s the worst crisis we have all season, then that’s fine by me. I’ll certainly take that come May.”