It says something about a team’s standing, skill-set and attitude that they can go into a derby clash and put in what some might have considered to be an under-par performance, yet still outplay their opponents by still coming away with a vital three points and stamping their authority on the proceedings.

It also speaks volumes for that team that a 1-1 draw against other SPFL opposition can be seen as a blip in an otherwise sterling run of results.

However, both scenarios are being seen as yardsticks for tomorrow’s (Sunday’s) Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden, with Celtic’s 3-2 win over Rangers being the previous derby clash and therefore barometer of the game, and the Hoops’ most recent outing was last weekend’s 1-1 league draw with Motherwell.

Callum McGregor was in the engine room of both games and the Celtic captain well knows the ins and outs of how the squad reacted to both scores and performances.

Starting with the 3-2 derby win that stretched Celtic’s lead at the top of the table to 12 points at the start of this month, he said: “When you win these games, of course it’s a positive and you come away looking at the performance because that’s the type of team that we want to be.

‘We want to not only win these games, but we want to win them well in terms of performance.’

“But, first and foremost, let’s make no mistake, it’s about winning these games and when they come around, performance-wise, of course you strive for perfection, but the ultimate aim is to win the game.

“And we’re glad that we did that, we showed a side to us that it’s good that we want to win.

"We were super-competitive in the game, and that kind of carried us through the fixture, which is a positive as well because you need that even when you’re not playing so well, you need that willingness to win and run and fight for each other.

“So, of course, at the weekend we’ll be looking for a better performance in terms of the technical and tactical aspects of the game.

“But we still have to bring that competitiveness that won us the last game, so hopefully we can marry the two and we’ll have a positive experience at the weekend.”

Callum McGregor looking for competitiveness and skill in semi-final