Switching from European excitement to domestic drudgery will feel like something of a bind but, as Callum McGregor sagely points out, you can’t have one without the other. With second-placed St Mirren and managerless Rangers not playing until Sunday lunchtime in Paisley, Celtic can stretch their advantage at the top of the table to seven points with a win over Derek McInnes’ side.

Continuing to dominate the domestic landscape is vital both in itself but also for the prizes that come with it. This season’s Premiership winners will gain automatic entry to the revamped Champions League for season 2024/25, with each club playing eight group games rather than six. If Celtic want to be a part of that, then winning matches like this one is vital, with additional motivation arising from their cup loss to Kilmarnock earlier in the campaign.

“We have to dust ourselves down as we have a big game on Saturday,” said McGregor. “We owe them one for the cup – there will be a bit of motivation there. You don’t ever want to lose games ever. It annoys you. Even when you drop points, those are the ones you remember for next time and do everything you can to put it right. That will be the message at the weekend.

Callum McGregor trains for Celtic ahead of Saturday's league match at home to Kilmarnock.

“You only get nights like the other night if you do well in the league. That is your bread and butter and you need to make sure you are on the ball. I’m sure we will be. There is more to come from us. We are only seven games in. We just focus on ourselves. We don’t want to drop points.

“It was a wee bit sluggish at the start (of the season) but we seem to be getting a lot slicker. We’ve spent more time on the training pitch and we’re starting to get to know the new boys’ games. The mentality kicks in where you want to be relentless and pushing all the time. It’s exciting where this team can go but we need to stay focused, individually and collectively.”

The Champions League continues to be a source of both fascination and frustration for Celtic. The loss to Lazio, courtesy of Pedro’s 95th-minute header, continues to sting but McGregor is not entirely without hope with four group matches still to play.m“You almost need to be perfect at this level,” conceded the Celtic captain. “You almost can’t make mistakes as teams have the quality to hurt you. A lot of the stuff was good. We created chances, had control of the game and the more time you have with the ball, the less time they have to hurt you with it. It’s maybe just not quite falling for us.

“I think we still have to target getting out of the group. When we see the games, there’s nothing in it in terms of the quality of the teams. It’s just the fine margins. We’ve played two games and I don’t think we have anything to be scared of at this level. The next game (at home to Atletico) is massively important, we have to get something from it. The group is still tight enough to get out. If not, then definitely getting third and having European football after Christmas.”

Celtic return to Parkhead driven by sense of revenge - 'we owe them one'