The main topic for discussion during today's episode of the Briefing was a simple one: are Celtic building from a position of strength for the first time in a long time?

Fundamentally I disagreed with the premise. Why? Because Celtic have – with the exception of last summer when Ange Postecoglou inherited a shambles when numerous players were ready to leave after a morale-sapping season – always been in this position of strength.

For at least the past decade the Hoops have gone into each pre-season as the best team in the country, the most financially-capable club in the country and the most successful side in the country.

Whether the club always took advantage of that position is another matter.

On that count, my own thoughts are that they didn't. As Postecoglou might put it: they seemed a bit afraid to take a risk.

A consistent theme of pre-season was the club waiting for the Champions League qualifiers to finish before doing the *real* business. In a way that helped so sacrifice the chance to make an impact in Europe - as did perhaps not having a coherent recruitment strategy.

I could make the argument - and did on the Briefing - that the 2020-21 season was actually an attempt to build from strength by not selling the big names in the squad  (Craig Gordon and Jonny Hayes were the main guys who departed) ahead of the club's tilt at the 10.

That said, you could also say it was essentially standing pat as only Mohamed Elyounoussi (on loan) and David Turnbull were recruited that summer and actually succeeded. The other summer reinforcements? Vasilis Barkas, Shane Duffy, Albian Ajeti and Diego Laxalt.

GET OUR FREE CELTIC NEWSLETTER SENT TO YOUR INBOX EVERY DAY

But I digress. This year all of that is starting to feel like a different world. A different club. A different time. And in a way it is.

The influence of Postecoglou in getting things done as soon as possible – Exhibit A: the January recruits being sewn up and announced while it was still December – and the way Michael Nicholson is going about overseeing and supporting that vision is to both of their credit.

Of course, something I harped on about during the season was just how much the club wants to buy into Postecoglou as the clay with which to mould Celtic for the foreseeable future. 

Even that part seems to be moving in the right direction. The restructuring of the youth academy to dovetail more easily with the senior side and the backroom additions to support staff such as sports science and data analysis are all good things. Modern things.

Strong foundations require strong characters to maintain them – and there are very few stronger figures to model your foundations on than Ange Postecoglou. That much has been made clear in the past year.

Yet it's the structural stuff behind him that will prove key. In his image is fine, even advisable, but it must remain intact whether he stays for another 10 months or another 10 years. That's more important.

So to return to the question at hand: are Celtic building from a position of strength for the first time in a long time? I still disagree that this is the first first time they've been in this position – but it might be the first time they're taking full advantage of it swiftly and coherently.

This piece is an extract from today’s Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out at 4pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team.

To receive our full, free newsletter including this analysis straight to your email inbox, click here and tick the box for The Celtic Digest