THE FIRST silverware of the season will be on offer this weekend as Celtic and Hibs battle it out at Hampden for the League Cup.

Denuded of any significant power when the European place that once went with it was axed, it is a competition nevertheless that still holds some weight.

For one, any treble-winning team needs to have it. But more importantly this season from a Celtic perspective is that which it could be the catalyst for.

Psychologically, after the chaos and acrimony of last season, the opportunity to revisit the scene of previous triumphs may well serve as a reminder to the Parkhead side of the manner of their domestic dominance in recent years.

When it comes to setting up the remainder of the season it would be of benefit to have banked a trophy in December.

Hibs beat Rangers on their way to the final with Martin Boyle running the show at Hampden last month and the Easter Road side will enjoy being regarded as simply turning up for a day out at the national stadium.

With Shaun Maloney expected to be confirmed imminently, there will a few among the Hibs party looking to make a point or two of their own given the club’s recent league form.

Ange Postecoglou goes into the game with an attacking line-up that has been significantly diluted given the absence of key players.

Jota and Kyogo Furuhashi have been pivotal to the manner in which the Greek-Australian has set his side up although, increasingly, there is the stamp of Postecoglou on this Celtic side.

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His words from his opening Lennoxtown training session seemed to be at the heart of the win in Dingwall on Wednesday night, a win that could prove to be one of the most significant of the season.

There has been a coyness about the fitness of Kyogo and the extent of the injury he picked up in the Europa League win over Real Betis.

Regardless of how much Celtic want to be popping champagne corks again at Hampden on Sunday it would make little sense to risk the Japanese striker given the scope of games between now and the January shutdown.

If there was an option of the forward available for Hampden or available for the game against Rangers, the priority would surely be to have him fit and available to play against the Ibrox side.

Certainly, though, what has been evident about Celtic in recent months is not just the growing sense of momentum but also of belief; in one another, in the way the team has been set up and the system that Postecoglou wishes to play.

It brought forth a 97th-minute winner and it has seen them through a run of injuries so cursed that one would have to wonder if there was a market sale of voodoo dolls somewhere.

Postecoglou has had little time for the spin-off and sideshows that come along as part of the deal with Scottish football. His priority now will be a single-minded focus on Hampden with those fit enough to play their part.