Sorry, Brendan, but this is going to be the most TEDIOUS Treble of all time

As the Celtic fans poured out of Hampden and basked in the warm glow of the late afternoon sunshine, Brendan Rodgers was holding court in his post-match media conference deep in the bowels of the national stadium.

A 5-0 hammering of St Johnstone had booked his team’s place in next month’s Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen, moving them one step closer to yet another clean sweep of trophies.

In the aftermath, assessments of such a horribly one-sided contest were never likely to be the main talking point.

Had it been a boxing match, the referee would have stopped it long before the end of the 90 minutes as a punch-drunk St Johnstone side could defend themselves no longer.

The game itself became an irrelevance. Instead, Rodgers was asked to contemplate his own place in the history books and the landmark that is now within his grasp.

With the league title all but mathematically secure, he is now essentially one match away from becoming the first Celtic manager to win three domestic Trebles.

Brendan Rodgers applauds the fans after Scottish Cup semi-final win over St Johnstone put his team on verge of a domestic Treble

The League Cup was first trophy of the season, and now Celtic are set to add the Premiership title and Scottish Cup

Callum McGregor gave Celtic a precious lead against St Johnstone in a 5-0 hammering at Hampden Park

Asked if those personal milestones and the chance to make it a personal hat-trick motivates him, Rodgers replied: ‘Clearly. Yeah, it does, aye.

‘It’ll be 3.1 as well [in reference to Neil Lennon taking over and securing another Treble after Rodgers had left mid-season to join Leicester in 2019].

‘Yes, of course, it’s nice when it comes to you as an individual. For me, it’s what’s best for Celtic. Us winning the trophies.’

The cheeky grin and playful mention of what happened with Lennon in 2019 made it clear that Rodgers was in good form.

Once the questions had finished, he walked away and was asked to pose for a picture with an elderly supporter. He duly did so.

The elderly chap looked like he may well be of an age to remember some of Celtic’s finest teams over the years, going all the way back to the glory days under the great Jock Stein.

It did raise an interesting question, though.

If and when Celtic go on to complete what would be their sixth Treble in nine years, and Rodgers stands alone as the only manager to do it three times, where would this team and this season rank in the club’s history?

Rodgers with the first of his domestic Treble hauls, alongside skipper Scott Brown, in 2017

Rodgers celebrated another Treble in 2018 and he is now set for a historic third as manager

Rodgers admits he wants his own piece of history with a third Treble of his stewardship

Before people start falling over themselves to mention Rodgers in the same breath as iconic figures such as Stein, a degree of context and perspective is required.

Because, in truth, this is shaping up to be one of the most boring and uninspiring Trebles any team has ever accomplished.

If that sounds harsh or misplaced, consider this. In four Old Firm matches against Rangers so far this season, Celtic have won only once in 90 minutes.

They lost 3-0 at Ibrox only a few weeks before Philippe Clement was finally put out of his misery and sacked.

They lost 3-2 at home to a team managed by Barry Ferguson, a stop-gap manager who still hasn’t won a game at Ibrox despite being in the job now for two months.

In the League Cup final last December, they needed penalty-kicks to overcome one of the poorest Rangers teams in recent memory.

Only a fortnight ago, Celtic lost a league match against a St Johnstone side who sit bottom of the table and look destined for Championship football next season.

Should they win their five remaining league matches, and that’s a big if, it would put them on track to finish the season with 96 points.

Skipper Callum McGregor kicked off the scoring for Celtic at Hampden on Saturday

The prolific Daizen Maeda also got in on the act as St Johnstone were easily put to the sword

Japanese star Maeda scored two goals as the Perth side were swept away by Celtic

Even if they achieve that, it would still be a long way short of the 106 points Celtic hoovered up in Rodgers’ first season when Celtic won the Invincible Treble in 2016-17.

It would also fall short of the 99 points they won during Ange Postecoglou’s second season in 2022-23, when they once again claimed a Treble.

As is always the way with these things, supporters probably won’t care a jot. If Celtic do go on to beat Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final next month, good luck to them.

The fans will no doubt celebrate with typical gusto and laud Rodgers and the players for another season of all-conquering dominance.

Nobody will ever be able to take it away from Rodgers if he does, indeed, become the first manager to accomplish the feat three times.

But would anyone seriously argue this Celtic team to be one of the finest in the club’s history? No, it’s not even the best Celtic team of the two Rodgers eras.

Listen, Celtic can only beat what’s in front of them. It’s not their job to make the other teams better or to ensure that they have genuine competition from rival sides.

That’s absolutely fair comment. But a sense of context is important when people start talking about accomplishments and places in history.

Adam Idah also scored a tap-in for Celtic as they set up a Scottish Cup final with Aberdeen

Jota got the fifth goal at Hampden on an all-too comfortable afternoon for the Parkhead side

St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari admitted that his team were never at the races against a Celtic side who are dominating the domestic scene

The lack of jeopardy around the title race isn’t healthy. It does Scottish football no favours and makes for a boring and uninteresting product.

Sure, there will always be some kind of bizarre and bonkers tale unfolding somewhere. But professional sport relies on competition existing at the top level.

Scottish football simply doesn’t have that at the moment. In terms of genuine excitement and drama, this season has been a non-event.

When Celtic are looking to retain some of their best players, or, indeed, looking to attract new talent to the club, that’s not helpful.

Why should Greg Taylor sign a new contract? To play second-fiddle once the Kieran Tierney love-in begins and collect a few medals he’s already won umpteen times over?

Likewise Reo Hatate. Outstanding in midfield as he laid on three assists against St Johnstone on Sunday, what more is there left for him to achieve in Scotland?

Alistair Johnston won’t be far behind as a player who clearly has the talent and capabilities to go on and play at a higher level.

Racking up another Treble with his eyes closed can’t be doing anything to stimulate Rodgers and strengthen his desire to stay as manager.

He has a history of getting bored in Glasgow and feeling he has achieved all he can.

The sight of the brilliant Daizen Maeda scoring is becoming a familiar one as Celtic dominate the game in Scotland

True, we’re not at the point of him wanting to leave.

He made it crystal clear recently that he will ‘150 per cent’ still be in charge of Celtic come the start of next season.

But it’s not difficult to anticipate his attitude changing if a European campaign was to go wrong and Celtic were waltzing towards another league title on auto pilot.

Due to a change in Scotland’s co-efficient, the Premiership champions will no longer be granted automatic entry straight into next season’s Champions League group phase.

Instead, they must negotiate a two-legged play-off tie. It’s not difficult to see Rodgers getting itchy feet if that were to go wrong.

With the deal-makers in the Rangers takeover still playing hide and seek with themselves, the protracted negotiations are now impacting on the Ibrox club’s ability to hit the ground running in the summer.

Celtic will, almost certainly, start next season as strong favourites to win another Treble.

However the lack of jeopardy and competition at the moment is really unhealthy for all concerned.