Given the manner in which that which has been in a feature in the distance is about to draw into sharp focus for Celtic this season, it seems somewhat absurd to suggest that the hard work is just beginning.
The next ten days will prove definitive in Celtic’s season as they look to make history with a clean sweep for only the fourth time in their history while also going through the entire campaign undefeated. Neither achievement can be easily dismissed.
And yet, humming quietly in the background are the Champions League qualifiers, games which ultimately set the tone for any campaign for Celtic; it is not just the pull and attraction of rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite, but the financial rewards that sustain investment and maintain momentum.
Moussa Dembele, pivotal to Celtic getting there this season and key again in the group games, believes that this summer the Parkhead side are far better prepared to negotiate the three rounds that lie between the club and the lucrative group stages.
Read more: Ten years on at Celtic, Scott Brown 'has nothing to prove'
“We will be better prepared,” said Dembele. “We have played a whole season together and have done great,” said the striker. “Next season will be better although I can’t say it will be easier.
“One thing for sure, we have improved this season and are now a better team.
“The Champions League was everything I hoped it would be.
“When you are young you watch the Champions League and want to play in it. When you do it, especially at my age then it is like a dream. To come up against great players was a great learning season for us. It was great experience and it was good to compare ourselves to the top clubs.
“We have seen what we have to do to get there and we will work hard to do better next season. The manager knows what he has to do to make the team better.”
It is an indication of the kind of season that Scott Sinclair and Kieran Tierney’s have had that Dembele’s 32 goal return in his inaugural season did not yield a Player or Young Player of the Year award this year.
Read more: Ten years on at Celtic, Scott Brown 'has nothing to prove'
The striker took a gong for the goal of the season after a strike against St Johnstone in a 5-2 win, the culmination of a 25-pass move. However, for all the goals that the forward has netted he was reluctant to name a particular favourite, instead insisting that they all belong to the same narrative of a successful season.
“I would have picked all of them for goal of the season,” he said. “I think every goal has a story. I’m a striker and the best feeling for me is to score. “When I’m in the box I will do everything to put the ball in the back of the net. Right foot, left foot, header, shoulder, knee, whatever.
“I think everyone has seen what I’m capable of this season and hopefully next season I will be even better.”
Meanwhile, the striker has not given up on making thee William Hill Scottish Cup final. Celtic play Aberdeen at Hampden on May 27th, a game that still seems unlikely to feature Dembele after a hamstring tear sustained in the semi-final. With crucial Champions League qualifiers in July, the striker will not be risked although he wasn’t prepared to rule himself out entirely just yet.
“Do I want to play in the cup final?,” he asked. “Yes, but it is not up to me. It is up to the injury. I have to take my time and don’t rush back. If I make it then I will be happy. “
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