What started in turmoil ended in the slipping back to an old routine.

If Tuesday morning was the short, sharp shock, last night seemed like a return to the groove. After all the excitement of the week Celtic relished the relative blandness of what became a comfortable win at Easter Road as they progressed into the semi-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup at the expense of Hibs.

The relatively subdued nature of the performance was offset by two cracking second-half goals – the first from James Forrest when he waltzed around the edge of the box before unleashing a ferocious effort into the top corner of the net, the second when Scott Brown sealed Celtic’s progression after Odsonne Edouard laid the ball onto his boot to blast well beyond the reach of Ofir Marciano.

Lennon was gushing in his enthusiasm in the aftermath of the win which he felt was a throwback.

“Forrest and Brown, it is like going back in time to 2010,” said Lennon. “They were with me at that time, nine years later they are still outstanding footballers at this club. For me they are two Celtic greats and they still have plenty of time to write more chapters in their time here.”

Ironically, it was Celtic’s first win in Leith since Neil Lennon’s first managerial Parkhead era; it was the one ground in Scotland where Brendan Rodgers did not leave victorious from.

Not that the departed Celtic manager has been forgotten just yet. One particular ditty could be heard following Forrest’s sumptuous opening goal as the visiting support celebrated with a “f**k you Brendan Rodgers, you won’t be winning trophies any more” chant.

His successor’s remit is to do just that.

And come the end of the season this just might come to be regarded as key to any success that Celtic might be enjoying. Even under Rodgers and his 24-cup winning streak, this is not a game that would have been taken as a given.

Coming as it did on the back of a shocking turn of events at the start of the week followed by a last minute mid-week winner at Tynecastle, this was an early test of Lennon’s credentials to take the job on full time.

As the Parkhead side face an unprecedented treble treble, this week was always going to be a robust examination of Celtic’s capabilities. Emerging from both games with their ambitions of another clean sweep still intact is an interesting reflection perhaps of the determination within the Celtic camp to sustain the levels set by Rodgers.

There were a few interesting points of note; Mikael Lustig was back in at right-back following the arrival of Jeremy Toljan in the January transfer window in a loan move from Borussia Dortmund, while Oliver Burke and Edouard both started the game.

Burke has become something of a conundrum with no-one too sure where to get the best out of him.

The 21-year-old’s pace makes him a persistent threat but he looks out of sorts as an out-and-out striker. Forrest was moved inside for a large chunk of the game with Burke then deployed on the flank and it will be interesting to see just how Lennon tries to find a way to fit him in.

If there was a hint on Wednesday night following the game at Tynecastle that Lennon would seek to cut down on the dependency of playing out from the back, it seemed to be consolidated yesterday although too often in a kick and rush opening half it seemed like a reverting to hoofing it up the park.

There was a sun-plot, of course, to all of this yesterday too.

Lennon had insisted that he felt no awkwardness about the early return to Leith following his tempestuous departure a month ago. Citing that “her majesty” would be in the directors’ box in reference to Hibs chief executive Leeann Dempster, the former Easter Road manager was not tempted to rub a little salt in the wounds in the aftermath of the result.

Indeed, if there is anything particularly notable about Lennon from his last two games at a grounds that hold their fair bit of history for him it is that there has been a concerted effort not to get too carried away. It has been best behaviour from the Northern Irishman who admitted to finding the waiting around for the game particularly hard to take.

“My stomach was churning when I woke up,” he admitted. “I had to go for a walk, I had to come back and get some fresh air again. It is a quick turnaround. It was difficult leaving here but it has worked out okay I think. Now my whole focus is on Celtic.

“It doesn’t feel any sweeter. It’s relief. Because I didn’t want to come in after 24 cup games and be the one that spoils that run or have people pointing the finger at you. I’m really, really pleased we accomplished that here today and I have to pitch it to John and Damien and Stevie Woods and the staff for helping me out the last few days.”

Lennon’s replacement at Hibs tasted his first defeat at the club but had little complaints about the result or the performance. The Easter Road side were industrious without truly troubling Celtic at all but Paul Heckingbottom was philosophical about the Cup exit.

“I’m disappointed because we are out of the cup,” he said. “Celtic were the better team, although we had some real good moments and a strong performance for an hour.

“We didn’t have enough quality to really hurt them, so if that’s the case, when you fall behind it makes the game harder. “We were good, but Celtic were better.”