STORIES and songs are as much a part of Celtic as the hoops and the huddle.

The songs were given a rousing rendition in Glasgow's east end following a Saturday lunchtime dismantling of Hearts that put Ange Postecoglou's men nine points clear at the Premiership summit with two of their matches remaining.

Those singing knew a simple truth: their team are 30 league games unbeaten and will soon be crowned champions. That's the story part.

This particular chapter of it was not without its plot twists though. Early goals have been a feature of Celtic's season – it's just that it's usually the men in green and white celebrating them rather than conceding them.

Before Ellis Simms' half-volley put Hearts ahead at Parkhead on Saturday, the only goal Postecoglou's side had conceded inside the opening five minutes was Aaron Ramsey's opener at Ibrox on April 3.

That day the response was swift and the result positive. Against the Gorgie side it may have taken a wee while for the Celts to find their footing but there were openings – for Daizen Maeda in particular – that gave a hint into where the Jambos could be pegged back.

It was no surprise then when the Japanese forward proved the one to level proceedings after superb work by Jota through the middle – in the nanoseconds a player at this level has to make decisions, the Portuguese's awareness not to pass to the offside Kyogo Furuhashi should not go unnoticed.

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By the time Kyogo nodded in the second - after a superb cross from Matt O'Riley and leap from Jota for the knockdown - it had been all Celtic for a considerable period of time. They never really relinquished their grip on the game, and the title, from then on. O'Riley, in another tour de force performance, added the gloss along with substitute Giorgos Giakoumakis near the end.

In the immediate joy of the result and its consequences it is worth noting that the team which was swept aside so easily is the undisputed third force in Scotland, coming into the match on a 10-match unbeaten streak of their own and with the SWFA player of the year between the sticks.

That's one of the upshots of the Scottish Premiership split: at the business end of the season, you have to play the cream of the crop to get over the line.

"I said to the players before the game," Postecoglou mentioned post-match. "That there are many ways to hit the finish line – but it is always nicer to burst through it."

In that regard, Celtic have repeatedly underlined their domestic superiority with a fantastic record against the rest of Scotland's best sides. Of the 18 matches they have played against the other top-half teams so far, the Hoops have won 14, drawn two and lost two while scoring 37 goals for the concession of just nine.

How have they done this? Well, Postecoglou has been at pains to stress it's been a collective effort. The stats back that up – from sharing the burden of goalscoring to passing the ball more and utilising a co-ordinated high press, this Celtic side's season has very much been a tale of belief in the common good bearing fruit.

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But like in any good yarn, there are still main characters. Players who stand out even in the midst of a decidedly ensemble affair; some new faces, some who’ve been there the whole time.

There has been Kyogo Furuhashi, cerebral and persistent. Callum McGregor, unflappable and immeasurable. Jota, with his dancing feet and appetite for the big moment. There has been Tom Rogic's unique unplayability, Carter-Vickers' ice-cold solidity, Joe Hart's steady presence between the sticks.

Others have been formidable. There's the January signings; Daizen Maeda's indefatigability, Matt O'Riley's artistry. Josip Juranovic, Liel Abada and Giorgos Giakoumakis have each made an impact throughout too and – whether it's Anthony Ralston's 97th-minute Dingwall winner, Carl Starfelt's slow-and-steady improvement, those who left early like Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edouard or even Joey Dawson and Owen Moffat who played when injuries and Covid robbed Postecoglou of first-choice options – it's all part of the story.

Each of them – all 36 who have played this league season – has contributed to this most unlikely of achievements; a title win that stands up to any in the club's storied folklore as much for the almost surreal turnaround from what came before as the manner in which it has actually been won.

And it has, you know. Been won, that is. Rangers' game against Dundee United on Sunday might stretch it to a midweek title party in the City of Discovery but that's all it will be: delaying the inevitable.

What the Light Blues do ceased to matter when Celtic came out on top in the fabled April/May derby trilogy. It was thereafter, as Postecoglou said pre-match, about "being in charge of our own destiny".

“For us, what’s important is that I think we’ve earned it this year, and that we continue to earn it," the manager added after the 4-1 win. "We’re not collapsing over the line, we’re strong, we’re committed to something. Our performances and the challenges we’re overcoming are reflecting that.

“You can collapse through the finishing tape or you can go through it at top speed. And that’s what we want to do. It’s what we’ve been going all year.”

In Glasgow, there's never much time to admire your work. The next challenge might not lie in wait until much later in the year than the club has become accustomed to, but it lies in wait nonetheless.

There will be changes in the summer. Some of those who contributed to this first instalment in the Postecoglou saga – as main characters or supporting – will not make it to the sequel.

For now, though, there is surely at least some scope to stand back a little and acknowledge this moment in time where each and every one of them can lay claim to having contributed to a remarkable chapter in Celtic history. They might even make a song of it.