Callum McGregor looks behind him and sees a defensive rock in Cameron Carter-Vickers. He glances forward and sees a blur of movement and imagination in the shape of Kyogo Furuhashi.
And while the rest of this Celtic team isn’t too shabby either, their captain is adamant that CCV’s solidity at one end and Kyogo’s star quality at the other are fundamental to a season that could yet end in a Treble.
Ange Postecoglou and his men took another giant step towards that goal with a comfortable 3-0 win at Tynecastle on Saturday to book their place in the Scottish Cup semi final, with Kyogo and Carter-Vickers joining Aaron Mooy on the scoresheet.
It may have been a rare goal for the American but his ability to stop them going in at the other end gives players like McGregor the platform to play and the Celtic captain was effusive in his praise after a victory that was a lot more straightforward than many predicted it would be. “He’s outstanding,” McGregor said. “He and Carl (Starfelt), to be fair and when Yuki (Kobayashi) came on, he was strong as well. “I’ve said this plenty of times – in our system the two centre backs have the hardest job because they’ve got to start the play and be involved in everything.