ASKING Brendan Rodgers to select which of his Celtic players ought to scoop up the Player of the Year awards is like asking a parent to choose a favoured child. You might have an idea in your head but blurting it out loud tends to only lead to an outbreak of petted lips and an extended period of cold shoulders.

Cases will be made for some of the leading performers at the Premiership’s other 11 clubs – Jonny Hayes of Aberdeen and perhaps Hearts’ Jamie Walker – but there could be no real complaints if the quartet on the shortlist were all from Celtic with Moussa Dembele, Scott Sinclair, Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong leading the nominations.

All have enjoyed stellar seasons under Rodgers’ careful guidance and all could again be significant when Celtic welcome Rangers to Parkhead this afternoon. The Northern Irishman’s ability to micro-manage his squad, to draw greater displays from previously under-performing figures, has been perhaps his greatest achievement in his maiden season as Celtic manager. Despite that, though, Rodgers’ focus remains on the collective.

“It’s hard for me to pick out someone [as player of the year],” he said. “There have been so many top performers - and consistent performers. For me the team has been the winner.

“From when I first came in, the early games including the loss in Gibraltar, to where we are now - we’ve come a long way. Our strength is our team. Of course, individually you need quality within that. To be honest, I could go right through the team and talk about development and how consistently good they’ve been. But I couldn’t pick out one.

“What they do collectively will always be the strength for us. That’s why we’ve made changes throughout the season and through that we’ve still managed to do very well. The structure we have in place is very defined - one comes out, one goes in. And when you’re in you do everything you can to keep your shirt.”

Perhaps the achievements of Dembele and Sinclair, in particular, deserve additional examination. Both arrived from English football last summer - one bristling with unfulfilled potential, the other looking for redemption - and both have flourished.

The financial gulf between the English Premier League and their Scottish counterparts means Rodgers will never have the luxury of splurging on the finished article but a well-developed scouting system and a network of personal connections will always deliver one or two capable of making a telling impact. Finding another Dembele may be a big ask but Rodgers is happy to take on that challenge.

“There's no doubt with the way the English Premier League is going, everything is focused on money,” he said. “You actually go away from the fact there are good players out there who don't cost a lot of money. Of course the team will always need that special talent, but you have a unique opportunity here in Scotland where you can bring players in on this cross-border rule, like a Moussa, which can really benefit everyone.

"If you are a player or manager working in the Premier League you can maybe double, triple or quadruple your wages but I have learnt that happiness is more important. You have to be happy in your work.

"Moussa's a great template for what the club can offer so we're always going to be in the market for that but there are very few Moussas in relation to temperament, ability, and sensibility. He's come here out of common sense as well. He knows he needs to develop. My experience tells me there are not too many young players and agents that strategically look at where they go next. It's about the now. But we will keep looking.”

Sinclair, at 27, is at a later stage in his career but perhaps is who Rodgers had in mind when he spoke of a player’s need to feel wanted. Having been at a raft of English clubs including Chelsea and Manchester City, the forward will not want for material objects but only through coming to Celtic has he felt cherished once more.

“Scott has had the big club, he’s had the Man City experience, he’s had the Chelsea experience,” Rodgers said. “So he can now look at it through a different set of eyes. With the football element of it, he just wants to be happy. He could have stayed in the Premier League with a team that’s getting 30 per cent of the ball and he’s defending more than he’s attacking. And before he knows it he’s 31 and that’s it.

“Whereas he can come here – not on the same salary of course – and play with a manager that knows him inside-out. And he can come and just play to his capabilities. I’m sure and I wouldn’t be surprised if, within the next few seasons, he’s got an offer to go back down south again. However, what I know now –as compared to if he had been still 21 or 22 – he would have second thoughts about it because of past experiences, but also because he loves it up here.”

Celtic will be overwhelming favourites to beat Rangers for a fourth time this season but there will be no complacency as they canter ever closer to a sixth successive title.

“Relentless is the word I would use,” said defender Erik Sviatchenko. “You just keep on having this focus. The next game is [today] and it’s so important not to get into emotions, just keep our mind-set. Keep facts and feelings separated in some way – that is what we are trying to do.

“Positivity keeps the momentum going. If you speak about it, if you want to keep a flow, keep your rhythm and that mindset where everything just happens as you want to, where even if you lose the ball you get it back, where the lucky pass still goes through, that’s something you can work on. These things will come to you if you talk about it positively. The luck will also come to you instead of you being afraid of it.”