Celtic clearly have their eyes fixed and firmly focused on the prize.

The prize in question, of course, is the Scottish League Cup; the first trophy plundered during Ange Postecoglou's Hoops managerial reign. The holders are certainly in no mood to relinquish their vice-like grip on the silverware.

Take Saturday's Scottish Premiership match against Aberdeen as a case in point. Celtic didn't take their eyes off the ball in this one - they had a job to do and they did it all right.

They dismantled the Dons 4-0; Rangers could wait but now it's full steam ahead to next weekend's showdown with their city rivals at Hampden Park.

Goals by Callum McGregor, a Reo Hatate brace - his second double in consecutive weeks - as well as a counter by Liel Abada kept Celtic nine points clear at the Scottish Premiership summit with 12 games left of the campaign.

That's now a colossal 82 goals scored in the league this season. Relentless? You better believe it. The finishing post is in sight and Celtic's second successive title is drawing nearer but Postecoglou will not let the players adopt that mindset. Ever.

Not, he would argue, when the champions can still get even better.

It was Cameron Carter-Vickers who in the lead-up to the Reds clash said this: "The message in every game is to make this the best team performance and individual performance that you have ever played. That's largely what we focus on and I think that is why we maintain such consistency in performances and results."

If ever two sentences summed up a team and their manager then that was it. I have opined before that Postecoglou and his players are all pulling in tandem. Everybody at Celtic is on message; they all have the memo.

When the players speak you can hear the echoes of the manager in their words off the field. You clearly see the manager's style, philosophy and football DNA in their deeds on it.

This is a team and a manager in control of their own destiny. Celtic might not win the domestic treble this season but they are going flat out to give it their best shot to be the best team they can be. That's a given.

Inspired by McGregor and Hatate, Celtic set about Aberdeen with gusto. The duo keep taking their individual displays to another level but, for Postecoglou, there is always a higher one.

"The skipper sort of set us off in the first minute and we never looked back after that," Postecoglou said post-match. "As for Reo Hatate getting better - he has to. We want him to, he wants to and it is not about resting on your laurels as we already know he is a good footballer. He has proven that.

Celtic Way:

"Like all the rest, we want him to be better and he wants to be better. At the moment he is pushing himself to new levels. He is a very determined young man, he is so focused on being the best footballer he can be, we see that every day and he gets the rewards for it."

Isn't that exactly what Carter-Vickers said earlier? See, I told you this Celtic team are in tune with one another.

That even goes all the way down to the Hoops substitutes. In last weekend's 5-1 Scottish Cup victory, three of the replacements bagged four goals - Hatate, Matt O'Riley and Oh Hyeon-gyu. This week against the Dons, only Liel Abada had that honour but he was ably assisted by fellow substitute Sead Haksabanovic when they combined for the team's fourth goal.

You get the feeling that every player who steps onto the park for Celtic - whether they are regular starters or not - plays like it is the last minutes they are ever going to get on a field. There is no let-up in intensity levels - and this is entirely by design.

"We've been strong for a long time and that's the key to it," Postecoglou acknowledged. "Even if we do have a bit of a flat spot, there are people coming on the corner, raise the levels again.

"They all want to play their part, they all want to contribute. A contribution in the last 10 minutes is just as important as the first 80 and that's the way they've embraced it. I'm sure the other ones who aren't starting want to play but they're also seeing an opportunity to play because now there are guys who aren't even getting any minutes at the moment who deserve to get some minutes.

READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou's instant reaction to Celtic 4-0 Aberdeen

"But if we want to be the team we want to be and attack it on all fronts in terms of the competitions we need a strong squad and that's what we've got."

Postecoglou has that and then some. 

What about the League Cup final then? Naturally, Postecoglou remains unfazed by it all.

"You just embrace it - that's why you want to be in cup finals," he said on that particular topic. "It's not just another week, it's not just another normal build-up and that's the beauty of it.

"It's why you work so hard to get to these big games. It's a game of massive consequence in terms of there being a trophy on the line. We'll enjoy the week but it won't deter us from knowing what's important and what's important is that we prepare ourselves as we always do to be the best we can be on the day."

Postecoglou is right about one other thing: he certainly doesn't have time to listen to other managers' press conferences. He is far too busy with really important stuff like picking a League Cup final team.

The next stop is Hampden. There, Celtic and their manager have a date with destiny. That's when the Australian will really come into his own and become the best manager he can be.