If you were the script writer for Celtic you’d be hard pushed to draft a better week for the club than the one we’ve just had.
Yet just seven days ago there was a palpable feeling of uncertainty in the air.
Would we sign the players we so clearly needed before the transfer deadline? Would Brendan Rodgers be left frustrated once again at how we were conducting our business?
And would we be destined for another X-rated European campaign in the revamped Champions League?
We’ll of course have clearer answers to those questions in the fullness of time, but right now there’s a new wave of optimism sweeping across the fanbase, and long may that continue.
The international break now comes at the perfect time to allow the team to regroup, reset and refocus before the next phase of the campaign. To do so on the back of a resounding win over our Glasgow rivals was the icing on the cake.
However, if you think Rodgers and his team will be happy to pat themselves on the back for their impressive opening to the campaign then you haven’t been watching closely enough.
The manager has an energy and drive just now that surpasses anything he brought to the role first time around.
Perhaps it’s a feeling of unfinished business, professional pride, or something else altogether, but whatever it is he’s certainly got the bit between his teeth and seems more enthused than ever about the task at hand.
The next fortnight will allow him to spend time with some of his new signings and bring them up to speed with his methods before we return with a home game against Hearts, quickly followed by our opening Champions League fixture against Slovan Bratislava.
Should we pick up full points in both fixtures then expectation levels will be nudged up that bit higher. That’s life at Celtic and you’re only ever as good as your last result. The manager knows that, as do his players.
However, with five wins from five so far, there are high hopes we could be set for another exciting season under Rodgers’ stewardship.
Is he set to write a whole new chapter in his own unique Celtic story? One with an adventurous European subplot?
The scene has been set. It’s now time for action.
Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange