Matt O’Riley described the depth of Celtic’s squad as “pretty crazy” as the Hoops stand on the brink of securing the domestic treble.
The Viaplay Cup winners clinched the cinch Premiership title last Sunday with a 2-0 win over Hearts at Tynecastle and only Scottish Cup final opponents Inverness from the Championship stand between Ange Postecoglou’s side and the clean sweep.
The Hoops’ prowess was reflected in the PFA Scotland nominations for player of the year, where Motherwell striker Kevin van Veen is the only non-Celtic player among the four nominees, with Reo Hatate, Kyogo Furuhashi and last year’s winner Callum McGregor representing the Hoops.
O’Riley is nominated for young player of the year along with team-mate Liel Abada, Rangers midfielder Malik Tillman and Albion Rovers striker Charlie Reilly.
With a nod to Celtic players like Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers, who may well consider themselves unlucky not to have been nominated, the Parkhead midfielder said: “Our depth is pretty crazy to be honest.
“We have boys who are very good players who are not even making the bench.
“That is a tough position for them to be in but it also shows that competition is really, really high.
“That comes from the training pitch every day. If we win a game 5-0 the training the next day will still be at a very high level and I think the standard we have set in terms of pushing each other every day definitely helps us.”
As well as highlighting the work ethic of the squad, O’Riley also talked up the personality of the Celtic dressing room.
He said: “First and foremost, everyone in our group is a nice person.
“We don’t have anyone in the team who is going to step out of line or if anyone does step out of line the slightest bit they will get told and will be back together on the same page.
“I think that is probably the main message, that we are just good people.
“When you work with good people it is more enjoyable and naturally you are going to work hard for each other.”
The Hoops travel to Ibrox on Saturday as champions for the final Old Firm game of the season which, for “safety and security” reasons, will be played in front of home fans only.
O’Riley said: “I would be looking forward to it even if we weren’t league champions and the fact that we also don’t have our fans there will be a unique experience but it should be fun.
“Even when our fans are in the stadium there are still hundreds of thousands if not millions watching on TV.
“Obviously we would like them there but we are not too bothered in the sense that the motivation levels will still be high and if you are not up for a Rangers game there is probably something wrong with you.”
Kilmarnock 0-5 Celtic: Bhoys capture third straight Scottish Premiership title
Celtic have won the Scottish Premiership for the third consecutive season after a dominant 5-0 win at Kilmarnock on Wednesday.
Rangers beat Dundee United 5-2 on Tuesday to make Celtic wait an extra day to secure another league title, but the Hoops brushed aside Kilmarnock with little fuss.
Adam Idah, Daizen Maeda and James Forrest scored in a dominant first half, with Matt O'Riley helping himself to a brace after the interval to cap a memorable display.
Celtic now have an unassailable six-point lead over their Old Firm rivals with one game to play, and they will celebrate their latest crown at home to St Mirren on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Bhoys closing in on rivals
Celtic have won the Scottish title for the 54th time, pulling them within one of rivals Rangers, who have lifted 55.
They have also finished top of the pile in 12 of the last 13 seasons, their only failure to lift the trophy since 2011 coming when Steven Gerrard's Rangers went unbeaten in 2020-21.
Rangers 5-2 Dundee: Cantwell and Wright keep Celtic's title party on hold
Rangers kept Celtic's Scottish Premiership celebrations on ice after Todd Cantwell and Scott Wright inspired a remarkable turnaround to hammer Dundee 5-2 at Ibrox Stadium on Tuesday.
Philippe Clement's side could not afford to drop points in this clash and seemed set to do so after Jordan McGhee bundled home before Antonio Portales headed past Jack Butland in the first half.
Ross McCausland managed to slice the deficit on the stroke of half-time for the hosts, sliding in to convert from Leon King's cross and teeing up a monumental comeback.
The Ibrox crowd were offered further inspiration to keep the title race alive when Cyriel Dessers glanced in from Cantwell's delivery after 52 minutes.
Former Norwich City midfielder Cantwell's fortuitous cross then dipped over Jon McCracken as Rangers hit the front for the first time, before Wright's pair of late finishes sealed the much-needed three points.
Yet this Rangers salvaging act could still matter for little, with Celtic requiring just a point away to Kilmarnock on Wednesday to seal a third successive top-flight trophy.
Data Debrief: Attacking barrage pays dividends
Clement may apportion this victory to Rangers' unrelenting desire to keep the title race ongoing, blasting 31 shots – and 13 of those on target – at the Dundee target for their 3.34 expected goals (xG) tally.
A plethora of attacking opportunities must be credited to star man Cantwell, who created a game-leading six chances – four more than any other Rangers team-mate.
Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women
Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.
Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.
Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.
"The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.
"We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."
Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.
Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.
"If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.
"We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.
"We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."
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