The 2-1 triumph over Rangers marked the 30th domestic win for Postecoglou’s men across only 32 encounters in the domain this season. With a stranglehold on the title won last year courtesy of a nine-point Premiership lead, and a Scottish Cup quarter-final away to Hearts at Tynecastle in a fortnight, there would appear little capacity for the Australian to improve upon his side’s current standards. The 57-year-old refuses to be bound by outsider’s perceptions of the onerous task faced by him to constantly move the dial.

"It’s not written anywhere there is a limit,” he said on that discussion topic. “Why should we settle for someone else's measure of how good we can be? They have been outstanding but we want to keep pushing. We haven't had many off days because we never look too far ahead and never look too far back. That's why we have been so relentless in our approach. The reason I push them is for days like this. We'll enjoy tonight and it's important we celebrate tonight, and enjoy the moment, because the staff and the players, everyone at the football club have worked hard for this. The supporters too deserve to celebrate this moment. But, once we've done that in the right way, we'll focus on next week against St Mirren; a tough game at a tough venue.”

The phenomenon that is Kyogo Furuhashi proved the differenc- maker at Hampden with his second double in as many finals in the competition, following on fron his matchwinning contribution to the 2-1 victory over Hibs last December. A striker whose effectiveness in the derby – the biggest domestic test for any Celtic player – had been questioned beforehand following only one strike in five previous appearances, a three in six record usurps the early returns in the fixture for even such as Henrik Larsson. A 25-goal haul for the season for the £4.7m buy from Vissel Kobe, Postecoglou refused to merely restrict himself to his statement signing’s predatory instincts in opponents’ boxes when setting out his worth to his team.

Surrounded by his players, Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou lifts the League Cup after the win over Rangers.

“It’s invaluable to have a player who is willing to do everything in his power to help the team,” the Celtic manager said. “It’s not about his goals. Obviously they are the most important thing, but he works so hard. He’s another that whatever rewards he gets, they are hard earned. He’s not floating about there just waiting for a chance. He’s running his socks off to do things other strikers won’t do because he knows it’s the right thing for the team.

"Players at this football club are often measured by how they perform on the biggest of stages and he delivers again. You look at him, the size he is and the players he is against and he doesn’t shirk any of it. He puts the opposition under pressure, he’s so clever with movement and he wants to be front and centre when the opportunities are there. He was outstanding and has been from the moment he joined this club.”

'Not written anywhere': Ange Postecoglou tells relentless Celtic stars to keep moving dial and lifts lid on Kyogo Furuhashi's impact