Bitton backs himself in centre of defence

How long he can hang in there remains to be seen. Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko will both return from injury next month but Bitton takes the view that playing every now and then for Celtic, even in an unnatural position, is better than not playing for them at all. “Some people just don’t understand,” he says. “Celtic is a huge club. Of course everyone wants to play, but it’s one of the biggest clubs in Europe. When you get a chance to play for a club like this, you do your very best to stay here.

“You don’t leave this club for every offer that comes along. Of course every player wants to play, and it’s not the same when you don’t play, but I will always do my best to help. When you play for Celtic, it’s one of the biggest stages in Europe. Every game I play here is the same as ten games for another club.”

Bitton is not the fastest, or indeed the most physical, which is perhaps why he has been edged out of the midfield, but Rodgers is content enough with his contribution at centre half to insist that the club will not be buying another one in the transfer market. That stance has raised a few eyebrows, especially with a Champions League play-off against Astana fast approaching, but Rodgers is adamant. As well as having young Kristoffer Ajer in reserve, full backs Mikael Lustig and Kieran Tierney are more than capable of stepping inside.

Ajer could feature in the Betfred Cup tie against Kilmarnock tomorrow, but as of now, Bitton is Rodgers’ preferred option for the bigger games. He is a calming influence, who plays the ball out from the back and also has an eye for the penetrative pass, one of which set up Leigh Griffiths for Celtic’s first goal.

“Centre back is not about being a hard man,” said Bitton. “If you look at centre backs in the biggest clubs in Europe, they are not the strongest or not the quickest. But they can read the game and understand the position.

“That is how I play. Some managers like to play long balls and fight for second balls, but Brendan Rodgers’ philosophy is about moving the ball quickly, keeping possession and not just kicking it up the pitch. All the centre backs at Celtic can play out from the back.”

Having watched their championship flag unfurled before kick-off, Celtic produced a performance in keeping with the occasion. Scott Sinclair turned in a second goal, albeit after a mistake by Aaron Hughes, the Hearts defender. Then Griffiths headed in a cross by Callum McGregor, whose sweet shot gave Celtic their fourth with 17 minutes left.

Isma Goncalves, a substitute, pulled one back for Hearts, but it was a difficult day for the visitors and their interim coach, Jon Daly, who described as “absolutely disgraceful” his Celtic counterpart’s pre-match critique of the Edinburgh club. Rodgers later responded by suggesting that he would not take lessons on managerial etiquette from someone who wasn’t even a manager.

All of which entertaining pantomime was matched on the pitch by Kyle Lafferty, the former Rangers player who now leads the line for Hearts. Quite apart from the hostile reaction he elicited from the home support, the striker was booked for persistent fouling, got away with an arm in Tierney’s face and was accused, at one point, of simulation. Asked if he should have been sent off, Bitton said: “Well, he got a yellow card, then it was a 100 per cent dive.”

Welcome back, then, to the Ladbrokes Premiership, which has started where it left off, with its flaws, its controversy and its unbeaten treble-winners setting the pace already. “Last year is over,” Bitton said. “It’s finished. Football is always about now, not what has happened previously. People don’t remember what we did last season.

“We want to go hard again and we want to win all the competitions we won again. And we have started strongly.”