It's ‘as you were’ in the race for the SPFL Premiership title, as both Celtic and Rangers picked up maximum points at home. However, that does not begin to tell the whole story of what transpired this weekend, particularly concerning the crowds that were in attendance at both matches versus Hearts and Kilmarnock respectively.

If you were lucky enough to have been at the game on Saturday afternoon – like me – then you’ll still be recovering from a symphony of noise emitted from Scotland’s biggest football stadium three days later. Indeed, Celtic Park played host to an incredible showing of passion, support and togetherness from the capacity crowd towards their club, as Brendan Rodgers’ side comfortably brushed aside Steven Naismith’s Hearts team 3-0. A brace from Kyogo Furuhashi and a late Matt O’Riley penalty put Celtic six points clear at the time, and the overjoyed home support made their happiness clear for those victorious players immediately following the game.

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On the other side of the city, Rangers came from behind to defeat Kilmarnock 4-1 on Sunday, with their opponents reduced to 10 men early on in proceedings. It was a comfortable victory in the end for Philippe Clement’s side, who closed the gap to three points, but the lack of noise and passion in relation to what was a good home victory may concern the Belgian manager in the eyes of club morale, especially compared to their greatest rivals. Indeed, despite goals from Fabio Silva, Ben Davies, Tom Lawrence and John Souttar, the Ibrox crowd were left wanting more from their team.

Of course, I was not at Ibrox on Sunday, so I could only base this opinion on watching the match on TV. When speaking with a Rangers supporter yesterday, however, my observations were found to be accurate, as they confirmed my suspicions to be true. For a team that is still very much in the fight for a potential treble, the atmosphere was muted towards the end of the match. In fact, many of the supporters had left the ground by the time Souttar scored Rangers’ fourth goal of the afternoon.

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Quite a puzzling situation, especially considering just how close the two sides still are at present. This is especially true in the case of the Scottish Premiership, as Rangers are still only three points off of Celtic in the league table, with the two meeting in four days’ time at the home of the current champions. If Clement and Rangers were perplexed at the lack of atmosphere, then they will very much be experiencing the opposite this Saturday.

You see, Rodgers, his staff and especially his players want the supporters to bring the noise this weekend. On more than one instance last Saturday, Reo Hatate lifted both of his arms up and down to the crowd before taking a corner and, in turn, asking the crowd to make more and more noise. His captain Callum McGregor joined in on the act in the second half, with the spectators duly obliging with their request for an increase in decibels. At long last this campaign, this is a team that understands the assignment set to them by an expectant fanbase, and is thriving in the process.

Siege mentality has well and truly been activated by everyone involved with Celtic, from the fans in the stands to the manager and his team. Everyone is on the same boat from now until the end of the season, which may well be effectively the case in the league when they next take to the field this weekend. ‘This is when Celtic come alive,’ echoed Rodgers just over a week ago, and he was right, both on the pitch and in the stands home and away. Supporters know that they have a job to do when they next make their way to Celtic Park. Despite how loud and passionate Saturday’s spectacle was, the noise pollution has to be cranked up to another level in order to stir up both a frenzy for the home side and a living nightmare for the visitors.

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No two ways about it, Celtic have all of the positive momentum heading into this mammoth clash against their fiercest competition. Scoring goals for fun at home and now in the habit of conceding fewer goals, this team under Rodgers are a far more dangerous animal than Clement and his side faced last month. With Callum McGregor getting back to full fitness and Kyogo rediscovering his goalscoring habit - alongside arguably O’Riley’s best spell as a Celtic player – the proverbial ‘driving seat’ is currently being sat on by the current champions, who hope to hold on to that title.

A quick glance to the other side would suggest a team that seems to be struggling with injuries and any sort of consistent form. For all of the stabilisation that Celtic have managed to find in recent weeks, Rangers have struggled to replicate this. Dropped points against the likes of Ross County and Dundee – both away from home – suggest a team that struggles on their travels, despite winning against St Mirren last time out. With all due respect, Celtic Park is a different kettle of fish than both Dingwall and Paisley, a place they lost at back in December.

Celtic cannot pass this opportunity up to put real daylight between themselves and the team in second place. It is time for the club to “come alive” and make themselves champions once again.

It is 'Time For Heroes', as The Libertines famously said.