And so, the Celtic juggernaut rolls on and on.
On paper, a nine point advantage with two games to come against your closest rivals suggests there remains an element of jeopardy on the road to a second consecutive Premiership title. But in watching Ange Postecoglou’s side week-to-week, it simply does not feel that way.
A vastly superior goal difference over Rangers essentially stretches the gap to 10, but the primary factor instilling calm where there would otherwise normally be tension is no other side looks capable of seriously troubling the reigning champions. Every potential obstacle – whether it be Ibrox, a stubborn St Mirren or the McDiarmid Park pitch – is being cleared with a minimum of fuss.
Rangers have found a previously elusive domestic consistency since the arrival of Michael Beale, and yet their impressive efforts have been fruitless in clawing back so much as a point on their city rivals. Even the smallest of hiccups at this stage would see the already slim prospect of a title revival slip further out of their grasp.
When the table is reset for next season, we may well have a contest on our hands, but for now it seems a case of when, not if, Celtic stroll over the finishing line. At this point, you might say, their only competition is a past version of themselves.
A bad day in Paisley back in September means the ‘Invincibles’ tag remains exclusive to Brendan Rodgers’ all-conquering 2016/17 team. But so utterly dominant have Postecoglou’s men been this term, they could still finish the league campaign with more points.
Rodgers’ side ended on 106 that year, scoring 106 and conceding 25. With 13 fixtures left to play, the current crop can still rack up a whopping 109, with room to match the Invincibles even if they were to lose again before the end of the season.
The prospect of making league history was put to Postecoglou before Celtic swept St Johnstone aside 4-1 at the weekend, and he was typically measured in response. The manager refused to set an outright target of breaching 106, and yet he did not put a limit on what his team can achieve by season’s end.
"I don't really set those kind of targets,” Postecoglou said. “If you do that, you kind of put a ceiling on what you can do. If I set the target that we want to beat the team that Brendan had, then what happens if we beat it with two games to spare?
"Do the players think then, 'Well we have done it?' It's not the way I work. I never set those targets, I never set goals.
"Let's just be the best we can be and see where that takes us. If it means we fall short of an Invincible team that Brendan created, then it won't be for the want of trying.
"We are not settling on anything, we just want to be the best we can be. If we keep progressing the way we are, I think it will take us to a good space. We want to be successful and whatever comes of that, it will be off the back of us focusing on how we can be the best we can be.”
If here and now is not yet the best Celtic can be, then that’s a rather terrifying proposition for the rest. The Parkhead side are unbeaten at home in over two years of domestic football, and it’s difficult to recall when they last came close to doing so.
This season, they have won every league they’ve played at Celtic Park, with an aggregate score of 37-7. Owed largely to that 9-0 demolition of Dundee United, they have actually scored more away from home with 41. Until Drey Wright smashed one beyond Joe Hart from distance on Sunday, they had kept six clean sheets in a row.
It must be nigh-on impossible for opposition managers to identify any cracks in Celtic’s armour, and David Martindale even joked he wanted to call himself a taxi when Livingston went in at half-time already 3-0 down last week.
Establishing commanding leads with plenty of time to spare has been another feature of their relentless dominance, often allowing Postecoglou to turn early to the embarrassment of riches on his substitute’s bench – three of their last four Premiership outings have effectively been over by the interval, and while Postecoglou’s mantra is ‘we never stop’, his team are in the habit of making the points safe in rapid fashion.
They have averaged over three goals per game this term, a rate that does not look in danger of dropping any time soon, and are largely managing to keep the door shut at the other end. This all points to the very real prospect they could surpass the record set by the Invincibles, one it was widely assumed – and with good reason - would stand the test of time.
It is testament to the relentless unit Postecoglou has assembled, one that arguably has even greater strength in depth than Rodgers’ immortals. The manager has regularly rotated personnel in various positions with minimal impact on overall performance levels, and next to none on all-important results.
Upcoming derby clashes with Rangers will offer an early measure of how well matched the old foes are likely to be when they start from scratch next season, but even with Rangers’ improved form, Celtic do still appear to be operating at a level above.
As for comparisons to the rest, it increasingly looks like the gap has never been bigger. Finances, of course, play no small part, but it still takes an incredibly impressive mentality to ensure there are so few off days and not a shred of complacency to be found among Postecoglou’s players.
It is a mentality that might just carry them all the way into the history books once more.
