This is one of Celtic's best teams for forty years and it's all down to Brendan Rodgers

Even the bench was full of players who were at the club last season when a title was won with little fanfare or excitement, Europe was a disaster and filling Parkhead proved a problem.

That’s how good a job Brendan Rodgers has done. He has taken a group of under-performing players, some of whom looked among other things done, on their way out or utterly out of their depth, and made them into one of the best Celtic teams of the past 40 years.

Just look at them now.

It was and is tempting to go on about how bad Rangers were – and that was a disgraceful performance by any team – and the size of the job which Pedro Caixinha and the board have over the next few months.

However, it would be wrong not to give huge credit to this Celtic team, their manager and his coaching staff who have worked wonders. Watching those same players a year ago was a chore. Now it’s a joy.

That they are the best team in the county is hardly a boast. They should be miles ahead, just not this far in front of Rangers and the rest, but they are playing some terrific football as well.

As long as Rodgers stays, and there is no hint of him leaving, then Celtic will continue to give their supporters days like this one.

“I never thought I’d live to see this,” said one fan in his late forties to me on Saturday evening. Nobody did, surely. It is more likely then not that it's going to be ten in a row.

Rodgers has everyone playing well. That is some achievement. He had taken Callum McGregor up a couple of levels, what a player this young man has become, got out the best ever season from Scott Brown, Stuart Armstrong is a new person, while even Dedryck Boyata, who few expected to even see at all, has been transformed into the powerful centre-half the club felt that had signed last June.

And if there is any chance of Patrick Roberts staying, even if it is for just a season, then everything should be done to keep the little winger who has magic in his boots. The Englishman gave Myles Beerman one hell of a time.

None of this would have happened had Dermot Desmond not been able to persuade Rodgers that Glasgow should be his next stop off point.

For me, this is Celtic’s best team, and most certainly season, since the 2003/04 campaign and Martin O’Neill had some serious players. That team won five Old Firm games, a double and beat Barcelona in the UEFA Cup.

Not since then has a team entertained as much and looked so comfortable from goalkeeper to striker.

And while all the talk over the next few weeks will be about an undefeated season and the treble, which is completely understandable, the next step is in fact getting back to the Champions League as they did last August with a new team which was not close to being as accomplished at this one nine months on.

Real Madrid won’t be losing any sleep about anything happening in the east end of Glasgow and Celtic, remember, didn’t manage to win a game in the group stages; however, while lots can happen in the dreaded qualifiers it will take a seriously good team to stop the Scottish champions getting back to those stages.

At the very least, Celtic should be good enough to be one of the better sides in the Europa League.

Going back to Ibrox and they almost strolled to a record win. When tackles had to be made they were won, they picked up every second ball or so it seemed, and their movement and passing made Rangers looked like part-timers.

They were fast to the ball and with the ball. They were far stronger in and without possession; they were calm at the back and clinical when it matters – even if they actually missed up a few good chances.

There are very few weaknesses in that side and the squad, one would imagine, is only going to get stronger.

And to think it all began with that daft defeat in Gibraltar. It’s the equivalent of Henrik Larsson messing up on his debut by giving the ball away to Chic Charnley.

Whatever Rodgers is getting paid it's not enough.