IT HAS been one of the perennials of the season even when the campaign was still in its infancy: the futures of Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers.

It is a question that has been approached from every which direction for Ange Postecoglou yet the answers have remained pretty steadfast across the last six months. Sometimes there is a need to read between the lines.

Both players will have options at the end of the season. Would Champions League football be a proper carrot for Celtic if there are negotiations this summer? Of course it would.

Firstly, in the sense that it would bolster Celtic’s financial hand and secondly that there is an allure in playing in Europe’s elite tournament for any player.

But in amongst the incessant questions about both players and their long-term future that has become as much a staple of the pre-match press conference as a zoom link and password, there has been an interesting addendum to Postecoglou’s replies.

His focus on the fact that he needs players at his club whose mind is on the job at hand is as notable as anything else that is mentioned on the matter.

It was 18 months ago or so when Neil Lennon emerged from a Champions League third qualifying round to AEK Athens and suggested that there were players at the club who “were not committed to the club” and “who may want to leave.”

His predecessor Brendan Rodgers had claimed - after a Champions League qualifier, interestingly also against AEK Athens - that Dedryck Boyata had been fit to play but chose not, raising weighted question marks ahead of the club’s most important games of the season.

Having players with their eyes firmly on the club and fulfilling the ambitions of the club is integral to any team that wants all to pull in the same direction.

Jota has been irresistible for Celtic at times this season and one the primary sources of attacking prowess; in among the 10 goals for the club this term there has also been a career-best for the winger in terms of his starts and contribution.

READ MORE: Callum McGregor's Celtic ascendancy should not go understated as another treble enters his crosshairs

Carter-Vickers has been quietly composed having stepped into what was a chaotic defence this summer.

The irony, however, is that it is such form that could yet put both players out of reach for Celtic.

Jota and Carter-Vickers will already be aware of the interest in them from elsewhere.

Celtic have been keen to utilise the £6.2m buy-out clause on Jota’s Benfica contract while Carter-Vickers is unlikely to force his way anywhere near Tottenham's first-team.

But there are suitors in the wings – at least four English clubs are believed to be in the queue for the American defender – and the reality is that financially, with Champions League bounty or not, Celtic could well be bounced firmly to the back of the queue.

It is not a new revelation that even EFL Championship clubs can put a juicier offer on the table.

It is also worth noting that Carter-Vickers will have shared a dressing room and rubbed shoulders with players whose weekly salary hits six figures. Such amounts become normalised, particularly in a Premier League environment. 

In the real world, the motivation for most of us is financial in terms of employment choices. Footballers are no different.

Postecoglou has been an unflappable figure at Celtic since his low-key arrival in June, when half a dozen supporters in the car park made for an underwhelming entrance. He remains unperturbed about the questions that will come this summer or the gaps he may have to fill if and when players make the choice to head elsewhere.

Fundamental to the success of any club is a sense of commitment, a buying in to the philosophy of the team. It is why just one unhappy player can cause all sorts of toxicity within a dressing room environment.

Jota and Carter-Vickers have made a home this season at Celtic. Whether they put down roots there still remains to be seen.