It was not just the icy air-conditioning which kept Brendan Rodgers cool yesterday afternoon as the Celtic manager met the assembled press corps to discuss this afternoon’s William Hill Scottish Cup final.

For a man standing on the edge of delivering an unprecedented achievement, Rodgers was as unflappable yesterday afternoon as he has been since he walked through the door at Celtic Park.

Having overseen a domestic season in which his side are yet to be beaten – a feat that has not been done since 1899 in an 18-game league – and having already banked a League Cup and a League Championship, Rodgers can claim the full set this afternoon.

There is no sense, however, of labouring under the weight of any expectation.

The Celtic manager described what awaits at Hampden this afternoon as the chance to enjoy what may be a once-in-a-lifetime moment, but he is unperturbed by the pressure that may bring.

There are only two men to have enjoyed treble success at Celtic; Jock Stein and Martin O’Neill, presenting Rodgers with the chance to place himself within a celebrated and elite club.

“I know where I am at,” said Rodgers. “I knew what I was coming in to, I knew the expectancy here. I know the demands that are on you here and I enjoy that. I’ve loved the feeling this season of pressure to deliver for them.

“For us, there is one more step to go to cap what could be a once in a lifetime achievement. You only have to see how long it has taken for a team to go through 38 games unbeaten and you see how few times it has been done, a team winning three trophies in the same season.... to actually have the two together is like a dream right there.”

And for all that Rodgers concurs that this afternoon is the chance for this current Celtic side to write their name into this history books, he has maintained that there was no difference to the mood at Lennoxtown this week.

The Hoops players were given the chance to savour going through the domestic season unbeaten on Sunday but the party hats were left at the door when training resumed.

“I have tried to programme the players to deal with pressure because that’s what it is when you play for Celtic.

“If you want to be successful, it is always there. It is not going away. If you want to go somewhere else, play good for two or three weeks on the spin then lose some games, that’s fine; you shouldn’t be here. To be here is to win. To learn to do that the best way you can, to play football to the level that we have, you have to be able to cope with pressure. The players have shown they can cope in every game they have been in. Hopefully we can finish that off tomorrow.

“We don’t like to make too much noise before the game, I think your noise takes place on the field. There have been games when the focus and torch has been shone right on them, ‘how are they going to cope with this?’

“And they have dealt with it. That has been about fostering a mindset, really. It is my job to take the pressure off, to coach them, to worry about how they play. We know that when we play, we have a great chance of winning.”

Rodgers too will leave his own legacy with a win at Hampden. The 44-year-old, though, was reluctant to dwell on what victory might mean to him on a personal level.

“I don’t think so much about that,” he said. “I’ll think about it after if it happens. If it does, great. If it doesn’t, it’s OK. I’ve done my best. We’ll go again next year and try to do the same thing. History always judges you as a manager and a player.

“I just hope in my time here, this season and beyond, I can do my very best. Whatever that lays out, it won’t change me. It doesn’t affect me, whatever I have on my cv. It doesn’t matter to me really. But for the history of the club, for the ambitions of the club, I always want to win.”

Rodgers’ influence has been compared this week to Stein’s by chief executive Peter Lawwell, with parallels drawn between the manner that both men rejuvenated a squad of players they inherited.

The Hoops boss was coy on the comparison.

“It’s hard to say that,” said Rodgers. “It’s different times, different eras. I have only been here virtually a season. I would hope that my ways of working in terms of how the team plays, their identity and style, the way in which they work, the demands that I put on players and what we put into the club.

“Every manager is different. Different cycle, different way of working. Times are different now. You do different things. I didn’t know Jock. I never ever knew Jock so I could never ever comment. If any of them ever think that then of course it’s always an honour.”