He joined Celtic in the summer of 2017, so Jonny Hayes has a competent understanding of just how good the Hoops’ Invincibles team of the 2016/17 season was.
In his first year at the club, Brendan Rodgers led Celtic to a historic unbeaten treble, amassing a colossal 106 points in the league and scoring countless goals along the way.
The boss’ current side have made an equally terrific start to the current campaign, winning 13 out of a possible 14 in the Scottish Premiership so far.
Statistically, in terms of both goals scored and conceded, the Hoops are better now than they were at this stage in the invincible campaign.
The parallels between the sides are coherent, but Hayes reckons there are a few key differences: “It’s always so difficult to compare teams,” he said (Sky Sports).
“One thing about this current team is they’re probably a little bit more dynamic, a little bit faster and attacking, and they’re probably a little bit more ruthless as well. You can argue there’s a little bit more speed in the team.
“They’re probably not as much possession-based; they want to attack you, and they want to score goals from the first minute.
“The overall quality of the squads is hard to gauge.”
While Celtic’s start to the season, both domestically and in Europe, has been almost impeccable, the challenge now is maintaining consistency.
They are currently amidst an ultramarathon of fixtures, which will run through until March of next year.
Brendan Rodgers is getting his squad rotation and team selections more or less spot on at the minute, and he must continually do so if his side are to keep up with their current electric run of form.
Next on the agenda is a recently rejuvenated Hibernian side at Parkhead on Saturday as the Scottish Premiership champions look to maintain their lead at the top of the table.
