ANOTHER potentially-hazardous hurdle cleared in Celtic's pursuit of the elusive Triple Crown with a 4-0 walloping of Hearts at Tynecastle.

After a roller-coaster few days at European and domestic level, the Parkhead club are definitely the in thing.

IN the Last 32 of the Europa League.

IN the lead in the SPFL.

IN the semi-final of the League Cup.

And now IN the hat for today's draw for the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.

This season, which began under a heavy cloud of uncertainty and inconsistency, now has a sunnier feel to it, which can only bring a smile to the face of Ronny Deila - and the Hoops support, who the manager and players went to applaud at time up at Tynecastle.

On Wednesday, they can extend their lead in the league when Partick Thistle cross the city to play the match which Celtic elected to postpone on the opening day of the SPFL season as they attempted to reserve their energy for their bid to book a place in the Champions League.

That remains the one major fail under Deila's reign, the cost of which is still being felt.

But from that disappointment, genuine reasons to be cheerful have emerged, with the club's first domestic Treble for over a decade looking more and more attainable with every passing week.

Sure, there remains a very long way to go, especially in the league race, and Celtic have not yet managed to open up the kind of gap they normally enjoy at this point in proceedings.

But they have hit their stride in terms of results, even winning when they have not played well.

That was the case against Dundee last week, but it was certainly not an accusation which could be levelled at them in relation to yesterday's cup win at Tynecastle.

There is a league between Celtic and Hearts. It showed in this eagerly-awaited match-up.

It should have been a tie to savour. But Morgaro Gomis spoiled that after just eight minutes when he got himself sent off for a reckless tackle on Scott Brown in the centre circle.

Deila said afterwards: "It was a calmer afternoon than I expected.

"I knew it was going to be tough. Of course, the sending off made the game different, but it was good that we kept up the tempo.

"We had very good pressing in the team. We got the four goals and it was comfortable."

Celtic certainly took full advantage, with Virgil Van Dijk finally ending Hearts' plucky resistance after 29 minutes with a terrific volley after Anthony Stokes' attempted shot had flown in his direction.

John Guidetti made it two from the spot six minutes into the second half, after ref Willie Collum decided that Brad Mackay had pulled him down as he turned in the box.

TV pictures showed that there was no contact, the Swede going down as his feet slipped from under him, with no appeal for a penalty. That opened the floodgates - and the exits for much of the home support.

Stokes drilled home No.3 three minutes later, and Van Dijk popped up again to head a Stefan Johansen corner over the exposed Neil Alexander after the Dutchman had again evaded the loose marking of Adam Eckersley.

There was still half an hour to go at this point, and a repeat of last season's 7-0 humiliation at the same stage of the competition looked within the realms of possibility.

The Jambos must shudder at the thought of meeting Celtic again on a regular basis if they can retain their lead at the top of the promotion race from the Championship.

If there is such a thing as a bogey side, then Celtic are certainly it for Hearts.

The Tynecastle side have not scored against the Hoops in their last five meetings, and have now been knocked out of both cups by Deila's Bhoys this term.

How this setback will affect Hearts as they progress on the road to redemption after getting their house in order financially, only time will tell.

But this was a reality checkpoint along the way.

Celtic have their own standards which Deila insists they must meet.

Trebles do not come easily. Just ask Gordon Strachan - a spectator at Tynecastle yesterday - and Neil Lennon, both ultra-successful as Celtic managers, but neither with a clean sweep on his CV.

Deila, despite his stuttering start, wants to end the club's 13-year wait for another.

That means every cup tie they play carries with it the extra pressure of knowing that one bad day at the office could see their dream of a trophy Treble shattered.

The Hoops boss admitted he was fully aware of this in the run-up to the trip to the capital, and confessed: "I was thinking for along time about this game.

"I knew it was going to be important and it was going to be hard.

"So I am happy and relieved to know that the goals are still in sight and that we are going to have a fantastic spring now."

For yesterday's shift, Deila was happy to be able to bring back the striking prowess of Guidetti after his enforced omission from European duty in midweek.

His presence offers so much more to the shape and system he wants his side to play.

With James Forrest also back in place of the struggling Callum McGregor, there was more pace and punch to the Hoops' attack, while Nir Bitton was drafted in to provide solidity in the middle as Charlie Mulgrew's replacement.

Truth be told, because of the numerical advantage after Gomis's moment of madness, it was impossible for the manager to assess just how effective this line up was.

The bottom line, however, is that they were more than good enough for the job in hand.

Hearts were contained, then picked apart. A couple of long-range shots, which did not trouble Craig Gordon, was all the team which was still on a huge high from their victory over Rangers the previous weekend could muster.

Celtic's bandwagon is picking up steam.