It is far from Celtic’s concern, of course, but the ease by which what was largely a second-string side swept Ross County away at Celtic Park on Saturday was striking.

The champions were five to the good by the interval, and it appeared they barely broke sweat in the second half as they coasted to another routine victory, increasing their lead at the top of the Premiership.

That gap over Aberdeen could be increased to seven points when Brendan Rodgers and his men travel to Pittodrie on Wednesday night, and in their current form, you wouldn’t bet against it. Celtic are threatening to not only make matches like the one on Saturday look like a procession, but their march to the Premiership title itself.

The ever-increasing chasm between the league leaders and their domestic opposition is writ large then on the balance sheet and on the pitch, but according to Paulo Bernardo, what also separates Celtic from the rest is the hard work they put in that you don’t see.

It would be disrespectful to both Celtic and the likes of Ross County to suggest that these games are ‘easy’, then, but it’s the combination of their greater talent, work rate and desire that makes them appear so.

“We play at a high level, so we need to be playing every game at that high level,” Bernardo said.

“We don’t have easy games; we make the games look easy. I think that phrase is our motivation for these games. We need to look at every game the same way.

“We’re playing in the Champions League, but we have to win the league. Every game is very important to us, and we have to do it from the first whistle.

“What we show on the pitch is the work that we do in training and in our analysis of our game. We try to always play the best football, and we try to show the fans that we are a very good team by playing football that is really good to watch too.”

They certainly enjoyed the show their side put on at the weekend, and on an individual basis, the performance of Bernardo.

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The Portuguese midfielder scored a well-taken goal, but he also showcased his class throughout, as he, Callum McGregor and Luke McCowan in particular completely dominated the middle of the park.

One of the main points of debate ahead of the game against Aberdeen on Wednesday night, as it has been over the past few weeks, is the question of whether Bernardo deserves to supplant Arne Engels in the starting XI, given the young Belgian’s recent struggles to make a consistent impact in matches.

It was a point addressed by Rodgers in his pre-match press conference last Friday, who actually cited Bernardo as an example of why fans should be patient with Engels, but with Bernardo now bedded in and – for the moment, at least – a more reliable performer, might the £11m man stay on the bench for the trip to the northeast?

“I try to not focus on that,” Bernardo said.

“I try to do my best in the games and in training to show that I can play from the start. The manager makes his choices, and I have to respect them and try to do my best when I can.

“Some players need a little bit more time. I needed a little bit. I think the coach understands that and gives us time to do the right things first and then to have an opportunity.

“Today, I think I'm better than the day I arrived last season. I'm happy and I think the coach understands that I'm better this year than I was when I came in last year.”

Just as Engels may look to players like Bernardo and McGregor as examples as he looks to establish himself at Celtic, Bernardo too took inspiration from those who came before him, and those he was looking to compete with for a place in the team last season.

Matt O’Riley, for example, is a player who Bernardo has tried to emulate this term, and he thinks he is reaping the rewards.

“I am scoring more goals this year than last year,” he said.

“Was that a big target for me? Yes. I think every player wants to score goals. I'm an offensive midfielder.

“I look at Matt O’Riley last season as an example. He scored a lot of goals and I’m trying to get [big] numbers too. The coach always says to every midfielder to get in the box because things can happen like on Saturday when my goal was from a second ball in the box.

(Image: Steve Welsh - PA)

“If I make runs into the box, I can have these balls to catch up and shoot from. He encourages that. I think the goals will come with time. By just playing game by game and doing the right things.

“Any player who scores a lot of goals is very valuable to a team. So, I try to score goals, as I think every player does. Sometimes we can't, but hopefully I can score more regularly.

“I think I did well [against County], but I think I can do even better. It's just one game, we have a lot more over the season, so we need to look forward and think about the next game.

“Every game is a chance to do the right thing. I'm happy with my performances so far but I still think I can do better. It's just about hard work in training to have these opportunities in the games.”