CELTIC have already got the huddle. So why shouldn’t they also have a quarter back to go with it?

So impressed has Brendan Rodgers been by the versatility which Callum McGregor has shown in shuffling from an advanced midfield role to deputise for Scott Brown in a deeper position that the Northern Irishman joked that he could even also replace US superstar Tom Brady, a five-time Super Bowl winning quarter back, at the helm for the NFL franchise the New England Patriots.

"How many positions does McGregor play?” said Rodgers. “He's just got the in-built brain for football. I said to him that if Tom Brady got injured in the NFL I'd probably get a call for him to go and play quarter back.”

What Rodgers means by this comparison – first coined by Sven Goran Eriksson in relation to David Beckham – is that, while McGregor’s isn’t exactly renowned for his defensive instincts in that holding role, he has the awareness to pick up the correct area, and the technical and tactical ability to zip a pass into a team-mate who is in a position to hurt the opposition. His case in point was Rogic’s goal in the 5-0 rout of Dundee in midweek.

“His view of the game is up there with the very best, he knows the game tactically,” said Rodgers. “Look at our first goal the other night. We always talk to the players about the speed of the pass and the first touch. When he gets the ball off James Forrest, you see how quickly he raps it through to Tom Rogic.

“That gives Tom time to get his shot off," he added. "It all comes from Callum's speed of the pass and his ability not to be safe with it and play forward. He's got so much courage to take the ball. Whatever area of the pitch I put him in, and tell him tactically what we want from the game, he does it. He's played in that role and he's been outstanding.”

Still only 25, all options are open for McGregor, a player who has also been deployed at full back and wing back on occasion. But with Scott Brown getting on a bit, playing that deeper role might just be his future. "He might end up there, but he could end up anywhere,” said Rodgers. “It depends on the tactics of the season. Hopefully he's at Celtic for his career but it depends what you want from the team. If he played for a manager who wanted it to go long and smash it up the pitch, he's probably not going to play there. But for me, if he's playing in a top team you'll put him where he can be effective and he can be effective in so many areas. He's such a big talent and it's great to see him flourishing.”

After an inefficient start to the season by their standards, suddenly the chemistry at Celtic seems right. Rodgers, and winger James Forrest, have won their respective Ladbrokes Premiership monthly awards, by dint of a run of six straight domestic wins, which have seen them score 20 goals and concede just two. Even without the excellent Olivier Ntcham, who left the fray on Sunday with a hamstring injury, the midfield blend seems to work. Ryan Christie is the next man up, providing the strong running off the ball not to complement McGregor and the wily Tom Rogic in a manner similar to that once provided by Stuart Armstrong.

“He [Christie] is a different player [from Armstrong] but he is definitely one who gives us that penetration with his running without the ball," said Rodgers. "You look at the balance of our midfield the other night, where we have a passer in McGregor who is good as you could wish to see, the speed with which he makes the ball go forward. Then you’ve got Rogic who finds space, he’d find it in a telephone box. The balance for that is the runner, and Ryan gives us that. You are looking for all three.”

What really tells his manager that Celtic are back to their best, however, is the defensive side of the game. It is hard to see past the victory against Hearts today would cut their arrears at the top of the table to a solitary point. “It is the defensive bit that makes me know we're getting back on track,” said Rodgers. “The compactness of the team, the pressure of the team, people reading passes and pressing it. I always say if we press well we'll pass well and it's no coincidence we did that against St Johnstone, Hibs, Hearts in the second-half in particular and Dundee. The chance to cut the lead is nice but we'll only do that if we perform to a certain level.”

As it happens, Rodgers was at the premier for the club’s double double video on Thursday night. He will keep a copy for posterity but it is the future he is concerned about. “It was great and some of it seemed ages ago but we’re trying to make the next experiences positive and plan forward,” he said. Forget sequels, why not a triple treble trilogy?