Brendan Rodgers made four changes to the Celtic starting XI last weekend against Kilmarnock: Liam Scales and Greg Taylor in defence, James Forrest out wide, and Adam Idah up top — four players who played their part in last season’s brilliant end to the campaign.

Rodgers has seemingly answered his own question by going back to the tried and tested from a year ago. Liam Scales and Greg Taylor worked well together in defence, and don’t underestimate the familiarity the pair have built with Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate on the left.

It was interesting that Maeda was moved out wide, as he had three players around him who he has worked well in the past. Idah didn’t have his best performance against Kilmarnock; however, he was able to create space for those around him, with Maeda and Hatate taking full advantage of it.

James Forrest added that reliability — he was solid on the ball, linking well with Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels. Forrest is less likely to breeze past opposition players with his pace having dipped in recent years; however, he is just as effective as ever.

He keeps the ball well, seemingly always makes the right pass, and that’s exactly what Celtic have been missing in recent months, with Nicolas Kühn’s form having dropped off drastically.

Looking at the starting XI ahead of the Kilmarnock match, there were questions over how Scales and Forrest would perform — particularly given they had only recently recovered from injury setbacks. But the pair showed exactly what Celtic have been missing.

The same can be said for Greg Taylor, who won Man of the Match. Brendan Rodgers has looked to take Celtic up a gear this season, and to a large extent, it has paid off.

However, since the New Year, dropping Taylor and Scales for extended periods hasn’t worked, and Rodgers now seems to have learned his lesson, with Jeffrey Schlupp and Auston Trusty failing to take their chance in the starting XI over an extended run.

It will be interesting to see if Rodgers makes any changes against St Johnstone on Sunday at Hampden, but given the sensational performance against Kilmarnock, you wouldn’t blame him for naming an unchanged starting XI.