After 10 league games, Celtic sit five points clear at the top of the Premiership table, with eight wins and two draws behind them.

One of those draws came on Saturday against Hibernian at Easter Road, and while it was a frustrating afternoon for the Celts, Brendan Rodgers remains pleased with how his team has started the season, particularly given the number of difficult away games they’ve had to tackle in the first quarter of the campaign.

Next up for the Hoops is a home game against third-place St Mirren on Wednesday night, and speaking ahead of that match, the Celtic manager gave an update on the health of his squad.

Alistair Johnston will be fine for the game, having been taken off early in Saturday’s match after a hefty blow to the face from the ball, while Odin Thiago Holm is also back in the squad.

Stephen Welsh is training again, while Liel Abada is still scheduled for a mid-December return.

However, the biggest blow for the Hoops comes in the shape of Reo Hatate, with the Japanese midfielder set to be out until after Christmas after picking up an injury early in last week’s UEFA Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid.

Paulo Bernardo replaced him in that game and then kept his place in the team for Saturday’s trip to Edinburgh, and Brendan Rodgers explained that it’s up to him and the other midfielders to stake a claim for a place in the team.

“With Paulo, he’s a fantastic young professional who’s come in from a different country, adapted and settled really well,” said the manager, “and he’s really looking to take on board the football philosophy here in terms of how we want to play.

“He’s obviously played virtually the whole game against Atletico Madrid, and it was always going to be a challenge for him at the weekend, but for that first 60-odd minutes, he worked hard and did well.

'Over time he’ll get better and better, but we’ve also got David Turnbull and Odin who can come into that position as well.'

“So the opportunities are there and will be there for players, both in training and in the games, and then it’s just about taking those opportunities.

“It’s all potential at the moment. When you want to be the top player, the number one factor is having the mental strength to get there.

“The talent will take you to a certain point but then it’s the mentality to improve and develop your game, and how you want to improve. And both guys (Bernardo & Holm), in the short period of time that I’ve seen them, look like they want to develop.

'The team that we put out is always to find the result, and it’s a great game for us on the back of a frustrating result.'

“I think our game was okay – it was a little bit slow up until the last 20-25 minutes, but then we sped up the game and showed our qualities.

“As we sit here, 10 games in – eight wins and two draws – in a team that’s still developing and improving and with a real tough fixture list away from home, then the guys have done really well, but we’ve got to keep pushing.”

WATCH BRENDAN RODGERS’ FULL PRESS CONFERENCE BELOW:

Exciting run of games ahead
On the start to the season and praise for the players
Thoughts on Stephen Robinson and St Mirren
Reo Hatate injury blow

Manager: Opportunities are there for the players to take them