CELTIC made it two from two on the road on Saturday afternoon by easing past Motherwell at Fir Park.

The 2-0 win - thanks to goals from Jota and David Turnbull - moved the Hoops up to fourth in the table behind Rangers, Hearts and Dundee United. 

In the aftermath, Ange Postecoglou talked about the importance of building consistency of performance, how quickly some of the club's summer signings have settled and the result's impact on the title race.

On squad depth and new signings

“It’s been great. All these guys, we just threw them in at the deep end, and they haven’t made excuses or made allowances for themselves. They’ve just got in with it and they’re improving in every game – Jota, Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi.

“We’ve got Giorgos Giakoumakis now and Mikey Johnston got a run today and we’ve still got Albian Ajeti and James Forrest to come back so it just means that these guys now feel more settled and they have the quality to make an impact, and I have no doubt they’ll keep improving.

 “Across the board, we’re not throwing guys in anymore, everyone has been here now for at least a month, whether it’s training or playing. They’re getting an understanding of the kind of football we want to play, and we just have a bit more depth in the squad to make changes during games, and in between games.”

It's been a long time coming - and there is still a way to go, admittedly - but you get the sense Postecoglou can finally see the light at the end of a particularly gruesome, injury-splattered tunnel. 

Given the manager has made it clear his style is here to stay, the importance of having viable options ready to come off the bench and reinvigorate a display when starting XIs aren't quite clicking is vital. Tom Rogic played the role of game-changing substitute against Aberdeen before the break and, while the starting XI coped just fine with Motherwell on Saturday, it's still a boon to see the manager so positive about the way the squad is shaping up for the weeks and months ahead. Speaking of...

On the rebuild

“Anyone who takes a bird’s-eye view of what has happened will see that there has been a major and structural rebuild on and off the pitch. The (international) break has allowed me to maybe look further ahead, which is important. You can rightly become focused on the here and now when you’ve matches twice a week.

“But without any games, I was able to sit down with (interim chief executive) Michael Nicholson and look at what we need to do in terms of the football department. In terms of January, we started putting some plans in place. That’s the bit you feel uneasy about when you are in the middle of a big rebuild yet your focus needs to be on the games at hand. So having those two weeks where we could look ahead a little bit has been important.”

Everybody knows Celtic are in transition. A new, exciting manager and a heavy turnover of players provide some qualifiers for some of the stumbles so far but the trick is to keep winning while implementing the new regime.

READ MORE: Celtic away-day bus finally up and running as Ange Postecoglou makes it two wins in a row on the road

Part of that comes down to the squad depth issues already mentioned and, in that sense, January is a pivotal second phase for Postecoglou. While talking to the written press, the manager specifically referenced that difficulties and the news that plans are afoot for January will be music to the ears of many a Celtic fan - even if, rightfully, many will think such plans should have been put together way before now.

On the three points

“I think more important was the performance. I thought we controlled the game from start to finish and it’s not an easy place to come and control the game. They’ve had a good start to the season and were pretty confident going into it, so the fact that we could control it and we got two good goals, plus I don’t think Joe Hart had a real save to make the whole game, that’s the most pleasing thing – the performance, and we got the three points.”

Back to matters on the pitch. Postecoglou has regularly placed a premium on performances over results so far in his tenure - which is not to say he does not value victories, just that he is primarily concerned with ensuring the players are buying what he's selling stylistically. That is reflected once again here, where his pride is clearly attached more to the way Celtic won than the fact they did it.

He is right to point out that going to Motherwell and not really giving them a sniff is worthy of more praise than it will probably garner generally; the Steelmen have been impressive so far this term and went into the game above Celtic in the league.

On the role of the support

"That’s the pleasing thing – we can send the fans home happy. They play their part and we sent them home happy from Aberdeen.

“We were disappointed when they came to Livingston in great numbers and almost turned it into a home fixture, so we don’t want to be sending them home disappointed, they’re backing the team, they understand what we’re trying to build here.

“It’s not going to be easy, but I think they appreciate what we’re trying to do, and they’ve been really supportive and are definitely playing their part.”

Short and concise though it may be, Postecoglou realises the importance of giving the fans their place and does so with regularity. In this instance, it is particularly refreshing to hear the manager reference times they let the fans down (Livingston) as well as times they haven't. It is through such acknowledgements, almost as much as the football he espouses, that he has gained a fundamental level of trust and support from most in the stands.

On the title race

"I thought the Premiership race was over mate, so I'm not looking at the table anymore. We're just kind of doing our own thing - it's got zero significance to us. I think what's more important to us is that we get some belief out of today.

"It's one thing to get the victory here but to also control the game here like we did should give the boys some real belief and confidence moving forward. We've some big games starting from Tuesday so I think that's the main thing for us. We've just got to keep our heads down and run our own race."

There's no doubting Postecoglou's perceptive nature. He picks up on the often-overblown narratives in Scottish football - although maybe it would be hard not to - and regularly calls them out, as he does here while speaking to the broadcast media.

What comes after the quip is more important, though. Postecoglou returns to a concept he has referenced constantly since his arrival: belief. It is arguably the main component required to consistently implement his attacking, ball-dominant style without fear or favour and it seems clear the Greek-Australian places a lot of stock in being able to inspire it in his charges.

Tellingly, he doesn't spend too much time on the impact of belief on the game that has just finished but is already urging the players to apply it to the next one. How the Hoops tackle Ferencvaros on Tuesday will give an impression of how deeply it has been instilled.