It came as a huge surprise to Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers as well as many within Scottish football.

When Callum McGregor was announced as the Scottish Premiership Player of the Month for August he chalked up an amazing career first. Despite years of consistency at the top level with the men in green and white, he had never actually won the monthly award.

It seems astonishing, right?

The Celtic skipper saw his side reel off four Premiership wins out of four as he achieved another career first by netting in three successive league games (two of those strikes coming in August against Hibs and St Mirren). Having hung up his international boots in the summer the 31-year-old was also granted a longer rest than normal over the last fortnight. Rodgers enjoyed having him around a little longer this time as he outlined the fundamentals that define McGregor as a Celtic player and serial winner.

The Irishman said: "I am surprised by that (Callum not having won the monthly award before).

"What I love about Callum and it is also what this club brings you is that being at Celtic is all about a culture of winning and to be a winner there is a process involved in that. That process is training and when you are in the programme for long enough what you will be is a player who is super fit, intense and consistent and that's Callum McGregor.

"That all comes from being a Celtic player. You need the intensity to be here, you need the focus, and you get that fitness. The other Celtic boys who are here the likes of Tony Ralston, Stephen Welsh, James Forrest - that's what they bring.

"Callum as the captain typifies what being a Celtic player is. I trust the fact that this is Callum's first Player of the Month award is correct. It is a genuine surprise as he has been performing consistently to a level that I know these guys have been at from when I was here the first time.

"Hopefully, he can keep the sequence of goals continuing. He is a brilliant player for us and a leader on the pitch and it was nice to have him about but most importantly having him fresh and ready to meet the challenge of the next six games."

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Rodgers also welcomed back man-of-the-moment Alistair Johnston who caused a bit of an injury scare when he limped off after feeling tightness in his hamstring during Canada's 2-1 friendly win over the USA. Johnston and national team boss Jesse Marsch took the executive decision not to risk playing further and the player wisely flew home.

He revealed that it was news to him that the right-back was reputedly in talks with the club to receive a bumper new contract for some stellar displays of late. He insists that Johnston is a player that Celtic are determined to keep beyond the end of his current deal which runs out in three-and-a-half years.

He said: "There is nothing (contract talks) that I am aware of. We would love to have him here for as long as we possibly can. He has three-and-a-half years left on his deal and he is playing ever so well. He has his power, strength and running ability and he is in a really good place. Naturally, as a manager we want him to be here but that is something that is between his representatives and the club.

"Alistair possesses so many qualities. His hunger to win and he has robustness and power and strength. He is hard to beat on a one-on-one and he now totally understands how I want to work and he can release himself. He can march and go forward and test the mentality of his marker and you see it now he is also scoring goals and creating goals.

"Ultimately, he can defend well and he has that hunger to defend. He is a really good guy and I am really enjoying working with him and he will still get better. If you think of his journey back home in the MLS to here and being an international player, he is only going to improve and I can see that already in him during my time here."

From one full-back to another Rodgers admitted that he was still keen to nail down 'first class' left-back Greg Taylor on a new contract despite the player entering the final year of his deal.

Rodgers said: "I hope we can get something organised and done on that because he’s a fantastic player for us. He makes that position work how we want it to look, and he’s first class. He knows we want him to stay and hopefully, between his reps and the club, we can organise that.

"He is a player that I rate and I’ve seen him grow from the outside looking in. I like everything about Greg, his personality and I love his spirit. I love how he plays the game and he plays like a midfielder coming from that outside position into the pitch.

He makes it difficult for the opposition and he is technically strong for a player who is small in stature. He competes in his duels, wins headers and does a lot of good things in the game which I like and appreciate.

"I hope that we can tie him down. In this period, that would be a real priority for us to get something sorted."

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(Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) Sandwiched within the next six games is Celtic's return to the dizzy heights of the new Champions League league phase. The Scottish champions will return to the elite level of European club football when they take on Slovan Bratislava at Celtic Park on Wednesday night.

There is an old adage in football that the next game is the most important one and next up for Celtic is a Scottish Premiership home meeting against Hearts.

However, it is hard to escape the whiff of Zadok's 'The Priest' (Champions League theme tune) permeating the rarified atmosphere around G40. The hectic flurry of activity during the last day of the transfer window when a record transfer fee of £11 million was splashed out on Belgian international Arne Engels, £5 million on Auston Trusty from Sheffield United, £1 million on Like McCowan from Dundee as well as recruiting Alex Valle on loan from Barcelona was premised on such nights.

Celtic are in a good place. There is a quality and depth to their squad. The mood music is as clear as a bell. Rodgers hit all the right notes by insisting the focus was very much on the visit from Steven Naismith's capital side.

The 51-year-old said: "The mood is good in the team and we have set our objective over the course of the next six games and that is to continue to be a really difficult team to play against. Over the course of next week, we are in three different competitions - all at home - and we are all excited by that. The next game mantra is still very much in our thinking.

"As for Hearts, in terms of points, it’s probably been a challenge for Steven, with European football as well. They will improve, and I don’t have any other thoughts on that other than they will improve. It’s still very early on in the season. I believe I’m right in saying Steven signed a new contract in the summer, so he clearly feels wanted and appreciated by the club, so they want him to continue with the work.

"They’ll be expected to improve, but I’m pretty sure they will. For me, we just have to be ready for a really good game. We’re in a really good mood to keep our performance levels as high as possible and make it as difficult as we can for Hearts.

"For people outside and yourselves and supporters, it’s amazing and you do look ahead. This is the boring side of coaching because you have to focus on the next game. I can tell you with lots of experience that it is what we focus on. We haven’t mentioned Bratislava - yes, I’ve watched them and a number of games - but with regards to the players, no, our focus is getting everyone back.

"We’ve had to reset and recalibrate everything again and just focus on our performance. After that, we can think about Wednesday and Sunday. When you look into the future, it’s three great games for us in three different competitions."

Scottish Premiership, Champions League league phase, and League Cup matches as well as new deals for Johnston and Taylor.

It's all in a week's work for Rodgers and Celtic.

Cue the music.