After his first competitive match in charge, away to Lincoln Red Imps, Celtic fans were applying a reality check to expectations for Brendan Rodgers.
Four months later no one could have anticipated how well things have gone, the results have been impressive alongside an all-round improvement in most aspects of the team.
Players that looked sickened by the game have been revived, with, most importantly as a former captain once said, there is most definitely a buzz about the place.
While still being very reliant on the players that he inherited, changes have been made in most areas as Rodgers strives to bring about the style of football that he wants his side to play.
Two years ago Ronny Deila put the system before the players causing some horrific results, his replacement is more pragmatic and has taken his time implementing change.
Over his four months in charge there has been a lot of change- from a side that struggled in Gibraltar to one that feel hard done to by only taking a draw from a Bundesliga side.
Celtic team v Lincoln Red Imps: 1 Craig Gordon, 22 Saidy Janko, 4 Efe Ambrose, 28 Erik Sviatchenko, 63 Kieran Tierney, 6 Nir Bitton, 8 Scott Brown, 9 Leigh Griffiths, 17 Ryan Christie, 18 Tom Rogic, 10 Moussa Dembele.
GOALKEEPER
Rodgers went through a phase where he was convinced that Dorus de Vries would improve the team but for whatever reason that hasn’t turned out to be the case.
Craig Gordon has his faults but since returning to the team he has looked more reliable and remains a very decent keeper.
Gordon is likely to face a new rival next summer but can be relied on to put in steady performances while learning through the remainder of this campaign
RIGHT BACK
Despite signing Cristian Gamboa towards the close of the transfer window Mikael Lustig is the man in possession of the right-back berth.
Fears about his fitness seemed misplaced when he played four matches in 10 days finishing with the Champions League tie in Monchengladbach- unfortunately he got injured against Inverness Caley Thistle and had to pull out of the Sweden squad.
Rodgers will stick with Lustig through this season but longer term it’s likely to be Gamboa that he turns to.
CENTRE HALF
Despite almost selling him without seeing him play Rodgers seems keen on Jozo Simunovic, working with and developing the Croatian.
Central defence was a big problem which Rodgers inherited but without panicking he has developed a few options.
Simunovic looks to have the key qualities that Rodgers looks for, if he can get back to full fitness and two games a week it’ll be a case of problem solved.
SWEEPER
No question that Erik Sviatchenko is the man for the job. He was in the team at the start, dropped out through injury but is now back in the side and growing into the role.
Kolo Toure can provide great back-up and experience but with one eye to the future it’s the Dane that Rodgers is investing in.
Sviatchenko doesn’t have the usual physical qualities associated with central defenders but alongside Simunovic there is the makings of a quality partnership.
LEFT BACK
Not much more to say other than it’s KT time.
Tierney may be out injured but it’s clear that he has nothing to prove to his new gaffer.
His performance against Manchester City was one of the best of the season. He went toe-to-toe with Raheem Sterling and enjoyed a score draw.
Every aspect of his game is developing, when he returns from injury he is likely to be stronger than ever and ready to make up for lost time.
CENTRE MIDFIELD 1
No doubting, no question that Scott Brown is the man of the moment.
Who could have guessed that a close season meal with the new gaffer could have brought such rewards.
At times last season seemed to be one too many for the club captain but a change is as good as a rest with the new management team bringing out the best in Brown.
CENTRE MIDFIELD 2
This place has been in the possession of Callum McGregor, passed on to Nir Bitton and now in the hands of the blonde Cafu- Stuart Armstrong.
As an added element it seems certain that bringing in a Steven Gerrard or James McCarthy type player will be a January priority.
With the praise of his manager ringing in his ears it looks like Armstrong is the man in possession but with strong competition the former Dundee United man will need to maintain his form, or else.
RIGHT MIDFIELD
This position looks like one that is really up for grabs. Rodgers must chose between the wizardry of Patrick Roberts and the efficiency of James Forrest- there may be matches where they both have a role to play over the 90 minutes.
Roberts looks like he is about to take the starting jersey from Forrest but in an ideal world Rodgers would love to have two players of this quality competing for every position.
ADVANCED MIDFIELD
Tom Rogic has come in from the cold to claim this position and stamp his authority on the role.
His link up play is first rate, crucially for this position he has an eye for goal even though it was a little rogue at Aberdeen after scoring a goal of real class.
Getting an extra 20% playing time out of him is the challenge, until then we’ll need to get used to 70 minute shifts.
LEFT MIDFIELDER
The £3.5m spent on Scott Sinclair was wisely invested.
Not only does the former Manchester City man have tonnes of skill he has the right attitude to prove wrong the doubters who’d put him on the scrapheap.
While Dembele has been grabbing the headlines Sinclair has kept things simple, putting the ball in the net regularly and coming back for more despite some horrendous bad luck around goal.
STRIKER
You would have got a few funny looks in the summer if you’d suggested that Leigh Griffiths would lose his place in the team to a £500,000 signing.
After a few signals Moussa Dembele notched a hat-trick against Sevco on September 10, not even a missed penalty a few days later against Barcelona could dent his belief.
Dembele can score all sorts of goals, he can play on his own or with another front man and is destined to be creating headlines and breaking records all season long.