The incessant chatter around Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham Hotspur is being treated as nothing but background noise in the Celtic dressing room.
There is, after all, the small matter of a treble to be dealt with over the next week. Greg Taylor treated the prospect of London calling for his manager with little more than a shrug.
The left-back knows it’s inevitable that all the success he has brought to Parkhead will not go unnoticed, but believes there’s little point worrying about something which is complexly out with the players’ control.
“We just do our job on the pitch,” he said. “We focus on every game and at a club this size you can’t look anywhere else.
“We have tunnel vision. There’s no point getting nervous about things like that, because it’s out with my control.
“I’m just trying to play a small role in the team and bring success to a club that demands and deserves success. It’s out with my control.
“I suppose [it’s inevitable there will be interest]. That’s what happens when someone does well at anything in life, there will be plaudits that come with that.
“Whether that’s trophies, individual honours or links to wherever it is, we understand that’s part of the life of a footballer and a football manager.”
Taylor was more preoccupied with Saturday’s Premiership title celebrations. Celtic were presented with the trophy for a second consecutive season – and an 11th time in 12 years – after signing off in style with a 5-0 demolition of Aberdeen. Becoming champions marked the former Kilmarnock defender’s sixth major honour in green and white, and it was he who assisted Kyogo Furuhashi’s opener on the day.
His silverware haul will rise to seven if Celtic take care of business at Hampden on Saturday, but he still has some way to go in catching up with two of his most decorated team-mates. Callum McGregor now has 19 trophies to his name, while it’s just the 22 for James Forrest.
The latter is set to be rewarded with a testimonial this summer, and will go down as one of Celtic’s most successful ever players when he calls it a day. Taylor has been struck not only by the duo’s incredible record, but how much they still savour every moment of it.
And that’s something that ensures the 25-year-old remains hugely appreciative of his own successes.
“Unbelievable – two club legends in my eyes,” he said. “The amount of honours they have, games they’ve played, their goals and assists, they’re both a credit to the club.
“You can see they love every moment of winning things for Celtic. Well done to them.
“I’ll do well if I can get to their level, to be honest. It’s some feat to reach.
“I don’t look that far ahead. I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to play for a club this size at the moment, and however long that lasts I will try to take in every moment.
“It’d be crazy to get to their level. It’s so hard to win things in a football career, so for those guys to have won that amount is really unbelievable. They are two legends.
“These days never get boring, to be honest. It only gets more and more special every time.
“Every time, you learn to appreciate it that wee bit more, to take in the things you wish you did the last time.
“I’ll be appreciating every last second of playing for this club.
We need to realise there is a game next week so we have one eye on that, but you need to appreciate these moments.
“We’re in a very privileged position that not many footballers get the chance to do, the chance to win things. We’ve got to appreciate that and appreciate with the fans.
“It’s a special day.”
Focus will now shift quickly to that approaching cup final, one in which Celtic will be heavy favourites. Inverness finished sixth in this season’s Championship and were, incredibly, knocked out of the Scottish Cup before being reinstated after it was discovered Queen’s Park had fielded an ineligible player.
Even without that potential future pub quiz question, Inverness winning would be a monumental upset, outstripping even their own previous famous successes over Celtic. But Taylor is adamant there will be absolutely no hint of ‘it’s only Inverness’ within the favourites’ camp.
“I don’t think anyone in this building associated with the first team would utter those words,” he said. “We know Inverness will be raring to go, it’s a cup final and you only get the opportunity on the day.
“We’ve treated every game the same way all throughout the season – we prepare for the next one and that’s what we’ll do for the final.
“It brings a different pressure to us, definitely. But we’re the favourites in most games that we play and we understand that’s the pressure at this club.
“It was a good performance on Saturday which I think was needed going into the final. It’s something to build on and we’ll be ready.
“It was important after the last few games, for a number of reasons. We didn’t get to the levels we had done for 10-11 months before that, so it was important that we put on a performance, especially for the fans. They were amazing.
“We’re in a good place going into the final.”
