The international break is almost over and Celtic will soon be with us again.

The Hoops return to action on Sunday afternoon against Hearts. The Tynecastle clash is the first of seven tasty matches that will take us up to the next international break in November. Yes, there's another international break in November.

After Hearts, Celtic have Atletico Madrid (home) and Hibernian (away) in short order. St. Mirren then visit Celtic Park for a midweek fixture before we visit Ross County and Atletico, and then welcome Aberdeen to Glasgow.

So seven matches - five in the Premiership and two in the UEFA Champions League against Atletico. Tasty stuff.

Our exit from the League Cup actually means that we will play one league match more than Rangers during the next chunk of fixtures. On the weekend when they face Hearts at Hampden, we will travel to Ross County for an early Saturday kick-off.

With that in mind, we know that five league wins from our next five will have us at least ten points clear of our rivals. Given their recent love for dropping points, that lead may be even greater.

This is all within our control and there is nothing they can do about it. Win our next five and be at least ten points clear of them. Even with a game in hand, that will feel a long way back for them.

It would certainly be a good way to keep the heat on them, even under their new boss Philippe Clement.

In other news, Celtic international round-up: Carter-Vickers relief, promising Bernardo, Oh struggles