"I've said it before, it's a crime that I can't play some of these players from the start."

Those were the words of Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers in the aftermath of the latest 4-1 Scottish Premiership victory over Hearts at Tynecastle. The win moved Celtic three points clear of Aberdeen at the summit and 11 points clear of city rivals Rangers, courtesy of the Dons' loss to St Mirren in Paisley and the Ibrox sides' stalemate against Dundee United earlier in the day.

Celtic weren't even at their best on Saturday in the capital but they did what champions do. They were given a glimmer of opportunity and they took it by twisting, turning and tightening the screw on the domestic opposition in the process.

The crime that Rodgers may be referring to is the form of the 'dynamic duo' of Portuguese under-21 international midfielder Paulo Bernard and Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah who have made an uncanny knack and habit of making a valid contribution coming on from the bench in matches. There is a school of thought that Bernardo has played himself into serious contention for Wednesday night's outing against Belgians Club Brugge. A win for the hosts would put them within touching distance of a Champions League play-off place, at the very least.

Bernardo continues to impress as the £11 million summer signing Arne Engels has started to toil domestically. In Engels's defence, the Belgian international has produced two of his best performances in a Celtic shirt so far in the Champions League. He was excellent in both the 5-1 destruction of Slovan Bratislava at Celtic Park on Matchday One and he followed that up with a decent display in the 3-1 triumph over RB Leipzig on Matchday four.

Rodgers has a real selection headache and dilemma on his hands for this contest, that's for sure. Bernardo who recently notched his 10th goal in 28 appearances for the Portugal under-21 side had a tremendous impact on proceedings in Edinburgh on Saturday. He looked every inch the classy player. His current form would indicate that he is winning the argument to be an automatic starter over Engels.

His attitude, desire, and work rate have been outstanding and he possesses the ability to make things happen. He picked up another assist - his second of the season in the Scottish Premiership - when he neatly shunted the ball to Idah who made the game safe by tucking away the killer third goal.

However, Rodgers has stuck by the 21-year-old Belgian thus far. Engels certainly looks like a player who will be a huge asset to Celtic moving forward. Some payers take time to settle into a Celtic shirt. I'll raise you a Nicolas Kuhn, ladies and gentlemen. Domestically Engels is off the boil and Bernardo is in hot pursuit of the jersey. Ultimately it will be Rodgers who makes the all-important call come Wednesday night in terms of team selection. Bernardo should be right in the mix.

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The 'ultramarathon' has started and it is all hands to the pump. Rodgers reiterated in the Tynecastle press room when he was asked specifically about Bernardo and Idah starting matches, he said: "They know over this period that they'll get starts, but it's making an impact. Whether you start the game or come into the game, that's the role that they play and sometimes they will do.

"So it's just trying to manage the minutes of the players to make the team energetic and to keep that intensity. And we're going to need that over the coming months."

As for Idah, the brace at the weekend against the Jambos will have done his confidence levels the world of good. He moved level on goals in all competitions with talisman Kyogo at the weekend as both men took their respective season totals to seven thus far.  Kyogo also has three assists to Idah's none at this current juncture.

Idah has a long way to go before matching any of Kyogo's feats. The 29-year-old notched his 80th career goal for Celtic and his 11th against Hearts. Ironically when Kyogo opened the scoring against Hearts on Saturday he did so with only his 10th touch of the football. Read into that stat what you will.

Kyogo when studied in closer depth may appear to not be at the races in terms of his contribution but his movement off the ball is sublime and he is constantly making space for himself as well as creating space for his teammates. He is more than just a goalscorer yet most of the judgment comes because of his prowess in front of goal or lack of it at times.

However, Idah's own set of statistics is not to be sniffed at. The Irishman has featured in 35 games for Celtic in the calendar year and has 16 goals to his name. Ten of Idah's 16 career goals for Celtic have come when he has been substituted onto the park from the bench and six of them have come from 12 starts. The attacker averages a goal every 77 minutes on the field.

That's quite impressive for someone who bearing in mind when he joined Celtic had not played much first-team football of any kind to any great degree at any level. The £8.5 million summer signing was down the pecking order at Norwich City yet somehow Rodgers turned Idah into a Champions League goalscoring centre-forward within minutes of coming onto the field of play on his debut at that level.

Idah can and will be a potent weapon for Celtic moving forward. His Tynecastle display was a timely reminder to Rodgers - not that he needed it - that this was why Idah was brought to a club like Celtic in the first place. As Idah opined after Saturday's result: "With the squad we’ve got, everyone is capable of playing their part. I think that’s why we’ve been really good this season. It doesn’t matter who starts the game, it’s about making an impact.

"Saturday showed the depth again. A couple of us spoke about it the other day, you could play anyone in the squad from the start. It’s probably the best problem for a manager to have. Everyone has been fantastic. It’s so good to have that with the amount of games we have and with Europe and everything.

"Everyone is excited for every game. We know this period is going to be busy and we need to stick together. Everyone will be needed to play their part."

(Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group)

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Rodgers has tended to favour Kyogo on the big occasions, especially in the Champions League and few could blame him for that. The status quo may not change for Wednesday night but at least Idah is pushing Kyogo all the way which is a manager's dream.

It was Idah's former Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny who reckoned that a permanent move to Celtic would be the making of the player. Kenny spoke exclusively to The Celtic Way back in March and he said this of his former protege: "Adam can only enhance the Celtic forward line and contribute positively in terms of his goals. He has shown that he can lead the Celtic attack and play with or without Kyogo Furuhashi in the team.

"I just think Adam will benefit greatly from this move and being in the Glasgow environment will be great for his development and progression."

It is fair to say that Kenny's prophecy on Idah is certainly coming to fruition. Bernardo and Idah are both giving the Celtic manager something to chew on ahead of Wednesday night's crucial clash against Club Brugge. Nobody is guaranteed a start at Celtic under the current Rodgers regime.

Rodgers is right in the respect that it is a crime not to be playing some of these players from the start. In any other era at the club Bernardo and Idah would be marked down as automatic starters for Celtic. It was legendary Lisbon Lions manager Jock Stein who famously quipped: “The secret of being a good manager is to keep the six players who hate you away from the five who are undecided.”

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So far Rodgers has managed to keep the likes of Bernardo, Idah and other squad members happy despite his strict rotation policy. It was Stein who also said: "They call me a slave-driver boss but my one aim is to make Celtic great. The task at Celtic Park is No.1 with me – I want to see and help Celtic become great in Europe, as well as Britain.”

Celtic's 'dynamic duo' of Bernardo and Idah may well be giving Rodgers much food for thought these days. The 51-year-old is being more ruthless with his decision-making in terms of team selection this time around. That's the way the new-look Celtic has to be under his management.

(Image: SNS Group) Rodgers exudes the confidence and air of a manager who has total control of all football affairs at Celtic...a bit like Stein in that respect. He is on a one-man mission to make Celtic great domestically as well as in Europe again minus the slave driver bit, of course. Bernardo and Idah will get that memo when it is their time to aid Rodgers in that crusade.

Celtic becoming great again in Europe? It's a crime that the club haven't been a force in the European arena for so long.