THE CELTIC faithful came for a title party in Paradise - they duly got their wish as the Hoops all but wrapped up the Scottish Premiership.

Ange Postecoglou's men made it 30 league games unbeaten as goals from Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi, Matt O'Riley and Giorgos Giakoumakis saw Celtic sweep Hearts aside 4-1.

The Aussie's side - potentially temporarily - moved nine points clear of Rangers as they infected defeat upon the capital club for the first time in 11 matches. If the Light Blues spill anything tomorrow at Ibrox against Dundee United then Celtic will be crowned champions.

Failing that, a solitary point will do it against Dundee United at Tannadice in midweek.

The formbook certainly favoured the hosts this season as Celtic had won three of the four match-ups between the two sides with the only blip being the 2-1 loss to Hearts at Tynecastle on the opening weekend of the campaign.

Both Postecoglou and Celtic have come a long way since July. A long way.

He made one change from the side that drew 1-1 with Rangers last weekend, welcoming back David Turnbull in place of Reo Hatate.

The ex-Motherwell midfielder teamed up with Matt O'Riley and PFA Scotland Player of the Year Callum McGregor in the engine room for his first start since December 19. It was intriguing and exciting to see what he brought to the table.

Celtic Way: Daizen Maeda scores the levellerDaizen Maeda scores the leveller

Parkhead was rocking but the stadium was stunned into complete silence within three minutes as Ellis Simms cracked home the opening goal. It was only the sixth goal that Celtic had conceded at home all season in the Scottish Premiership.

It was all part of a sluggish start from the side that usually races out of the starting blocks at breakneck speed.

It wasn't long before the traffic was heading in the other direction though, and the roof blew off the stadium when Celtic scored twice in six minutes courtesy of Maeda and Kyogo with the aid of man-of-the-moment Jota.

Postecoglou wanted a reaction from his players on the field and he got one. It was Celtic's 50th first-half goal of what has been an utterly relentless campaign. Normal service had been resumed.

The Hoops were putting on a show and none more so than Danish midfielder O'Riley, whose clever flicks and intricate passing were a joy to watch at times. He got the goal his overall play merited midway through the second half with a cool, guided finish past Gordon to make it 3-1.

READ MORE: Detailed Celtic player ratings as Matt O'Riley and Jota push Hoops to brink of title glory

Second-half substitute Giorgos Giakoumakis also weighed in with his obligatory one-touch finish in the 90th minute following fellow substitute James Forrest's assist. It put the gloss on a wonderful day, performance and result for the champions-elect.

Phase one of the rebuild under Postecoglou is all but complete. The 56-year-old stands on the brink of chalking up a hat-trick of titles in three different countries: Australia, Japan and now Scotland.

It certainly hasn't been easy and it is all the more remarkable when you consider that Celtic lost their first three away league matches of the campaign.

As Postecoglou himself said: "To win a title you have to be better than every club in this country. That is who ends up being champions. So that is what we are going to try and do. I don’t think that (Rangers’ European run) detracts from our achievements.

"If anything, it adds to our achievements if we can become champions. For us to become champions, then I don’t think anyone can deny we have had to beat some pretty strong opposition."

Character, resilience, strength in depth, consistency, a collective effort - Postecoglou's Celtic have all those qualities in abundance.

The fans revelled and rejoiced with a rendition of "we've won the league again, fly the flag" at the end while Postecoglou and the players soaked it all up as he blew kisses to the supporters during the traditional lap of honour as the reality of his personal achievement began to steadily sink in.

When asked if he'd take in the Rangers game tomorrow, Postecoglou said: "No, I've said before mate that it's my kids' day, a day off. Apparently there's a new movie out - The Bad Guys - that's on the agenda so we'll keep an eye on that."

Ironically, it's Postecoglou's Celtic who have been 'Bad Bhoys' all season; the proof is in the fact they have reclaimed the title at the first time of asking.

Celtic now head to Tayside to make it arithmetically certain on Wednesday. How fitting that on the same venue where they relinquished their league title last season during their aborted 10-in-a-row attempt, Postecoglou's men could celebrate their 10th Scottish Premiership win in 11 years.

Last season felt like a case of Paradise Lost. This time it was a case of Paradise Regained. For those of a green and white persuasion, there is a certain poetic justice about all of that.