'Celtic start to look part at crucial time'

All of a sudden, things are looking very much rosier for Celtic as the team finds its groove at a crucial point in the season - and their title rivals stumble - with the finish line in sight.

Brendan Rodgers always said when he had his strongest squad to pick from Celtic would be a real force to be reckoned with, and although he has been without captain Callum McGregor in the starting XI, the champions are once again looking the part.

Regardless of the outcome of Rangers’ remaining game in hand against Dundee, few would expect Celtic to relinquish their advantage now as they seek a 12th Premiership title in 13 seasons.

And with the Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen the next challenge to be overcome, thoughts turn to a potential league and cup double - not a bad return at the end of a sometimes fraught season.

But of course there is still serious work to do to ensure both bits of silverware remain in the Celtic Park trophy room, starting at Hampden on Saturday.

Aberdeen showed in the most recent meeting that, at their best, they can cause Celtic issues.

But equally, if Rodgers’ side perform as they can, they should be booking a return ticket to the national stadium as they aim to finish the campaign in style.