Celtic will arrive at Easter Road this afternoon as pretenders but will expect to leave as Champions.

In fairness, Brendan Rodgers’ side have been champions elect since before a ball was kicked in August such is the manner in which they currently lead the pack. Rodgers set the hare running when he arrived at Celtic almost two years ago, setting in place a ruthless and clinical outfit who have lorded it over the remainder of the league.

There has been no pretension of a title race as Celtic have glided towards a seventh successive championship, but while there hasn’t been the same swashbuckling aggression that was evident in the invincibles campaign there will be little complaints this afternoon from the Celtic support if Rodgers orchestrates a win over Neil Lennon’s side.

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The Parkhead side require three points for a formal coronation of their top dog status although there is a lingering suspicion that there would not be too many tears shed were the champagne to be put on ice.

Celtic will host Rangers next Sunday afternoon in the final meeting of the teams this season but given the last two results and performances against the Ibrox side and the subsequent fall-out, Rangers would be expected to appear almost as a statistical note.

The Parkhead side have maintained this week that they want the title wrapped up as quickly as possible and Callum McGregor is in tune with the party line.

“It’s not going to be a disaster if we don’t win it on Saturday,” he said. “But, coming off the back of a good result at the weekend everyone’s feeling good and ready to play against Hibs and get the title finished as soon as possible.

“I think as footballers you want to win things and achieve success as soon as possible.

“That will be the main focus for the team.

“We want to win things as quickly as possible, get it done at the first opportunity if possible.

“That first chance is against Hibs at the weekend. We’ll be desperate to do it.

“But if it doesn’t happen for us then we’ve got four more games to win it.”

McGregor in some ways is symptomatic of just what Rodgers has done in his time at Celtic. The 45-year-old arrived with a reputation for enjoying getting onto the training ground and working with players and there has been evidence presented throughout his time in Glasgow of those who have improved under his tutelage.

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James Forrest has played the best season of his senior career this term while McGregor’s maturation has seen him progress to attaining regular first-team status, regardless of the magnitude of the occasion.

The versatile Scotland internationalist tends to slip under the radar at Celtic but his influence has been appreciated by Rodgers, judging by the games he is handed a starting jersey.

“I think as a player you want to get the trust of your manager,” said the midfielder. “For him to put you into the big games, to show that he trusts you to play well and gets goals to help the team win, you take a massive amount of confidence from that too.

“You just want that to continue, keep working hard every day and trying to get better and better.”

The nine draws that Celtic have clocked up this season – two of which have come against Hibs – would underline the more staccato nature of this term compared with last but there is always the sense that there is more to come from Rodgers’ side.

That was evident last week at Hampden with the ruthless dismantling of Rangers and with a Scottish Cup final and the prospect of penning another chapter into the history books might encourage a particular level of performance in the remaining five league games.

Rodgers is one game away from marking his place with a double treble, something that would be unique in the Scottish game. That finale may will provide a focus and the feeling is that Celtic have players who respond to the big occasion.

Read more: Matthew Lindsay: A double treble? History maker Brendan Rodgers deserves to be crowned Manager of the Year

“I think the closer you get to the end of the season and you know you’re playing for big prizes then you come alive to the big games,” acknowledged McGregor. “We’ve got so many top players in there, they seem to come alive in the big games.

“And I think if you’re going to win things, be successful, then that’s what you need — you need players who can step up on the big occasions, who can get you goals or produce tackles or make saves like Craig [Gordon] did in the second half against Rangers.

“That’s important when you’re aiming to win things — you need those big players to turn up.

“Obviously our main objective at the weekend was to reach the final. Now that we’ve done that - we know we’ve got that game at the end of May - it’s now about wrapping up the league as quickly as possible.

“Once that’s done we’ll be focusing on any remaining league games to make sure we’re ready for the Scottish Cup final.

“We know where we need to be at and we’ll be looking to win as many games to get to that end point.” Celtic fans will be hoping it’s not an end but another beginning.