CELTIC are just two wins from the title and three from a domestic double but manager Martin O'Neill has said the reality of winning the league is light years away.
The Co. Derry native took in January over for a second time this season with Celtic beaten in the League Cup Final and six points behind leaders Hearts.
However, he has brought them to the brink of a double with three games remaining, with the first against Motherwell tonight at Fir Park.
It's a far cry from where Celtic were just four months ago but despite the turnaround in fortunes, O'Neill moved to temper expectations when quizzed about a potential double, saying even winning the league title would be difficult.
"When Shaun [Maloney], Mark [Fotheringham] and myself got together, over both spells I think we will have played 23 league games," said O'Neill during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
"That's difficult to win in a 38-game season so if we could do it — you might say it's two games but we're light years away from that — then you'd have to maybe put things into context after that.
"But that's for another day and it might not even be for any day."
'Major task'
Despite downplaying Celtic's chances, O'Neill said his side can take confidence from their memorable win over Rangers on Sunday, the last derby of a tumultuous season.
After Celtic exited the Champions League at the qualifying stage to Kairat Almaty, manager Brendan Rodgers resigned just nine league games into the campaign.
It was followed by a scathing statement from majority shareholder Dermot Desmond and while O'Neill steadied the ship on the field, a ban on the Green Brigade saw the relationship between the fans and the board tested.
All O'Neill's good work then appeared to be undone by Wilfried Nancy's awful spell in charge, losing six of his eight games before the O'Neill emergency button was pushed again.
With the Green Brigade ban now lifted, the wins racking up and Celtic still in the hunt for silverware, it all feels like familiar territory once again.
"It [the Rangers result] gives us a big boost of confidence going into the game tomorrow evening, that's obviously the most important thing," said O'Neill.
“Naturally, winning the game and in the manner in which we did is great but that's gone now, that's over and done with.
"We face a major task here tomorrow evening."
He added: "I think there's a good connection with the team now and the fans. I think that's been an important issue.
"I think Celtic Park on Sunday was reminiscent of my old days and that's been great."
'Hard to keep going'
O'Neill said winning the next two league games against Motherwell and Hearts will be easier said than done and while their form both home and away will give them a boost, he added there is no room for mistakes against Jens Berthel Askou's side tonight.
"It's hard to keep going every single game because there'll be a match where you might actually dominate, you might not score and the other team might break away and find themselves 1-0 up," said O'Neill.
"For instance, on Sunday, we started off strongly. The game was helter-skelter. Rangers score and it sets us back.
"But we come roaring back into the game and scoring the couple of goals after half-time — one of them being a fantastic goal — gives us that big boost of confidence that's so important at this stage."
He added: "I think he [Askou] has done really well. They play a nice brand of football as well so he deserves a lot of plaudits. It's a difficult task."
While Celtic travel to Motherwell, leaders Hearts host Falkirk and Rangers welcome Hibs, with all matches kicking off at 8pm GMT.
For viewers in Ireland and Britain, the Celtic game is live on Sky Sports+ while the Hearts game is being shown on Sky Sports Football.
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