IN the NBA, basketball players regard it a badge of honour if they can record a triple double - racking up double figures in points, rebounds and assists. In Scottish football in the summer of 2017, Celtic players are starting to openly contemplate something else, the double treble.

Scott Sinclair, the PFA Scotland and Scottish Football Writers Association player of the year, said last night that the only way in which Brendan Rodgers' all-conquering side could improve upon their invincible clean sweep of the domestic trophies is by doing it again next year - along with an improved performance in the Champions League. Considering the domestic dominance which the Parkhead side displayed this season, and the likelihood of another tranche of Champions League cash coming into the club's coffers, perhaps that ambition is not as unlikely as some might think.

"Once everyone goes away on holiday and then comes back for pre-season training, or maybe even six months from now, we can reflect properly on it," said Sinclair. "It might be a case of suddenly thinking ‘Wow, we went a full domestic season unbeaten in winning the treble’. It’s never been done before. But how do you top it? You do it again next season. And not just that, we have to look at the Champions League as well. We want to get into the group stage again and then hopefully progress even further than we did this season."

Brendan Rodgers said in the wake of Saturday's triumph that his side had fulfilled six of the seven targets he had set them at the start of the season - the only problem blemish on their record being the fact they had conceded a whopping 25 goals. Amateur psychology or not, the Northern Irishman is such of a perfectionist that he even lambasted his players for what he regarded as their only sloppy training session of the season on the Thursday before the cup final. No wonder that Sinclair joked that he didn't want to find out what the reaction would be if they actually lost a domestic match.

"If you look at every single player in our squad, we are winners," said the former Swansea, Manchester City and Aston Villa forward. "We want to win, even in training. The amount of tackles that fly in in training - it’s just what we do. We haven’t just won this treble by luck. It has come down to determination, hard work and it has paid off.

"But he [Rodgers] sent us in from training early [last Thursday]," he added. "He told us we’d had 208 training sessions during the season and had one bad one, which was two days before the cup final. I’m not too sure why it was a bad session, I can’t put my finger on it. It was just a little bit slack. But it goes to show the high expectations of the manager. He doesn’t like anyone slacking. He always wants 100 per cent, he never lets anyone relax during a session. That’s why we keep winning."

Ideally Sinclair wouldn't be having a rest just now - he would have been delighted to earn a recall to the England squad for the World Cup qualifier against Scotland next Saturday but the call-up never arrived. But such is the enjoyment he has derived from his maiden season in this country, it seems a fairly safe bet that it won't take too long to get over the disappointment. While he thinks a few weeks off will help certain members of the squad ahead of the start of Champions League qualifying in mid July, there is no disguising the lease of life he has had personally. This is a season he doesn't really want to end.

“A lot of the lads played a lot of games during the season, we’ve enjoyed winning, but maybe some of us do need a couple of weeks off now," he said. "We will hopefully come back and be refreshed. But I feel as if I could keep going. I’ve had a few years out, so I feel fresh. I haven’t really racked up many miles on the clock. I feel younger than I am.

“To be honest, I wasn’t really disappointed [about England]," he added. "I keep my head down and all I can do, all that is within my control, is to do as well as I can on the football pitch. I need to try and score goals and win trophies for Celtic. When I get that call from England, it will be great. If it doesn’t come, then I just go on holiday again. My whole psyche is to enjoy playing football for Celtic. If an international call comes, great. If not, no problem."

Much was made of the meeting with Brendan Rodgers in Mallorca this time last year which set all this in motion but Celtic has surpassed Sinclair's expectations in almost every way. “To be fair, coming to Celtic I didn’t expect too much," he said. "I just wanted to be happy, to be playing every week which I have done. I wanted to be under a manager who gives me that belief, to get my career back on track. To be honest, it has worked out better than I expected.

"I’m so happy to be playing for Celtic and having a group of fans right behind me," he added. "I’m playing with a great team and just enjoying football again. This is what it’s all about, picking up trophies and celebrating with the rest of the lads.

"We didn’t want to get so far and then it didn’t happen on the last day in the Scottish Cup Final. But it did happen and it just goes to show the winning mentality, character and mental strength of the squad. When we went a goal behind in the final, we needed to pick ourselves up quickly and we did that with the equaliser. It’s great to be part of history now."