The Cup’s a great leveller? Well, not quite. This encounter was so far removed from a level playing field, it probably appeared on the Slope Steepness Index. Celtic’s predictable passage through to the next round of the William Hill Scottish Cup was confirmed with a five goal meander against a Brechin City side who battled away manfully after a wobbly start. The phrase ‘plucky part-timers’ may be something of a cliché but then football is based on old chestnuts isn’t it? “We put in a professional performance,” said Brendan Rodgers as he added to this list of hackneyed utterances. “I thought Brechin came with a good spirit and history tells you these games can be difficult.”

Rodgers certainly showed his opponents respect. A quick squint at the Celtic team-sheet would’ve given those of a Brechin persuasion a considerable bout of the heebie-jeebies. It was a starting line-up that was as strong as an industrial rivet with seven members of the side which won the Scottish Cup last May kicking off proceedings here. “I never try to disrespect any opponents and no games are easy these days,” said Rodgers of his reasoning behind fielding a powerful force.

This was going to be a day to get all and sundry behind the ball as far as Brechin were concerned. Indeed, you wouldn’t have been surprised if Darren Dods, the visiting manager, had drafted in the sturdy Glebe Park hedge to provide a robust, fortified line across the rearguard.

The words ‘right boys, let’s keep it tight for the first few minutes’ would have been being uttered by Dods on the sidelines but those best laid plans fell down halfway through the word ‘tight’. There were barely a couple of minutes on the clock when Scott Sinclair surged into the area and cut the ball back to James Forrest who cushioned a tidy finish into the net.

It was a fairly ominous sign, akin to opening your front door and being greeted by one of the four horsemen who proceeds to tell you that his three apocalyptic pals will be joining him shortly. When Celtic added a second after just 11 minutes you feared it was going to be the end of the world for Brechin. The visitors were the orchestrators of their own downfall with this goal. Having attempted to play their way out of their own box when a good old hoof would have cleared the lines, they got themselves in a real muddle and the ball eventually fell to Sinclair who delivered the ultimate punishment with a low finish.

The anticipated torrent of goals did not materialise, though. Celtic came ambling forward in dominant abandon but the hard-working Brechin boys scampered around, stuck the feet in and generally got in the way to thwart these bountiful advances. The visitors even managed a thrust of their own into Celtic territory and Jordan Sinclair strike was narrowly diverted past the post by the outstretched leg of Kristoffer Ajer.

Given the start they had made, the Brechin players would no doubt have been delighted to be heading for the tea urn at half time having conceded just two goals.

It wasn’t long before Celtic notched a third, mind you. Within three minutes of the resumption, Mikael Lustig lifted in a cross and Olivier Ntcham sprung into the air with an athletic leap and powered a downward header beyond Graeme Smith. Not long after, Dedryck Boyata used his napper to good effect as he nodded in the fourth from Callum McGregor’s cross.

At the other end, meanwhile, Craig Gordon had been watching events unfold in isolated tranquillity but he remained alert. He had to be and showed his reactions and agility to tip Paul McLean’s header over the bar. From the corner, Sean Crighton stole in at the back post but could only head wide. Had that gone in, he would’ve been carried back up to Brechin in a sedan chair.

As it turned out, they conceded another as the clock ticked down when Odsonne Edouard swivelled nicely and thumped a composed finish past Smith.

In the end, everybody trotted off home happy. Celtic’s defence of the Scottish Cup marches on while Brechin went down with an admirable fight. They took the plaudits at the end from an appreciative travelling support.

“It was the worst possible start,” conceded Dods. “Two down after 10 minutes at a place like Celtic? Credit to the boys though. They stuck to their task. We got our composure back midway through the first half. Maybe it was experience. Apart from Graeme Smith and Andy Jackson, nobody had ever played at Parkhead. We managed to contain them and we worked hard. We didn’t crumble and we kept going."

It's onwards and upwards from both teams.