Stuart Armstrong the quiet man pulling the strings as Celtic claim historic Treble

They’ve sung it all season, they lived it at Hampden on Saturday.

As the heavens opened and torrential rain pounded Hampden with a biblical ferocity, Celtic were handed a Treble by their own man who can walk on water.

Tom Rogic missed nearly five months of the season with a back injury, but his swiftness of foot and lightness of touch were evident in all its glory as he sunk the winning goal to bring bedlam to the national stadium.

The Australian midfielder, almost bashful in the mixed zone after the game as he spoke quietly of being unable to describe the feeling of the moment when the ball hit the back of the net, is the most naturally gifted player in the Celtic squad.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers built his own rock of Gibraltar at Celtic

It took a moment of beauty to win a cracking contest, a game in which Celtic had to dig deeper to find qualities that they have not always required this season.

As the gloomy sky above was lit up with a flash of lightening, Rogic sunk the winner to provide an atmospheric finale befitting of a season in which there has been a perennial sense of the year belonging to Celtic.

Rogic stole the headlines, but it was the quiet endeavour of Stuart Armstrong in the middle of the park who was the standout for the Parkhead side.

Armstrong’s renaissance this season has been well documented but when Celtic found themselves under the cosh in an opening half which belonged to Aberdeen, it was Armstrong who got the leveller before the Dons could get the chance to find their breath after Jonny Hayes’ opener.

In a breathless, frantic encounter, it was Armstrong who got his foot on the ball and made thing tick for Celtic. His influence throughout the 90 minutes was difficult to underplay.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers built his own rock of Gibraltar at Celtic

As Aberdeen camped deeper and deeper in their own half as the second period went on and they found themselves increasingly on the ropes, it was Armstrong who found the pass that sent Rogic free and gifted the Aussie his moment.

The 25-year-old is not the only recipient of Rodgers’ tutoring that has elevated his game to another level, but he is the clear star student. Scott Brown’s bluster and machismo are tempered by Armstrong’s level-headedness, his ability to think and play under pressure.

However you would describe this season, drama probably wouldn’t be a word that would feature significantly in the lexicon. Celtic have been calm, steady, focussed. They have not needed the drama too often of last minute goals, such has been their dominance.

This is a Celtic squad who have written their own chapter into the folklore of the club with 47 games played, 43 won, four drawn and none lost.

Saturday’s win at Hampden allows them to bask in the glory of an unprecedented achievement after going through an entire campaign without one domestic defeat, claiming all in front of them in the process.

Saturday was notable for the immediately obvious – the delivery of a Treble – but also for the manner in which Celtic had to work for it.

The general consensus before the game was that if Aberdeen were to harbour any hope of taking something from a team who had beaten them in all five games prior to the weekend’s they needed to score first.

They took the lead through Hayes’ opener – Leigh Griffiths caught sleeping to allow the Irishman to steal in in front of him - but when that was cancelled out within a minute of Armstrong levelling, there was a feeling that their resistance would melt as Celtic got their tails up.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers built his own rock of Gibraltar at Celtic

Celtic were disrupted by the facial injury suffered by Kieran Tierney. In a quieter moment of self-reflection, only Jayden Stockley himself will know if he has a case to answer. The player’s previous doesn’t help his cause; he caught Tierney with an elbow at Pittodrie a few weeks back while there was a lack of any concern as the teenager lay prostrate on the turf, blood visible from the wound.

Tierney’s loss didn’t help Celtic, and the Dons went into the break knowing they had been the better team – even then Sinclair should have buried a shot on the cusp of the whistle that could have given Celtic the lead – but the biggest failing of Derek McInnes’ side was their failure to capitalise on the chances they created.

The best came in the early stages of the second period when Callum McGregor got caught out trying to direct the ball back to Craig Gordon. As Hayes nipped in to claim it, Celtic were caught flat at the back, but as Hayes’ sent the ball square across goal to the waiting Kenny McLean – impressive throughout – his drive was a yard behind the midfielder, meaning the former St Mirren player had to twist to reach it, and the chance was lost.

On such moments are games decided. It goes in, who knows what follows. Instead, in the minutes Aberdeen lost momentum and with it lost all belief. They fell deeper and deeper, inviting Celtic to come at them.

In that final 20 minute period, Celtic came again and again; Patrick Roberts, desperately quiet until moved into a central position from the flank, clipped the post, Leigh Griffiths had shot beautifully parried by Joe Lewis, Dedryck Boyata ought to have buried a free header, Mikael Lustig sclaffed at a shot at the near post and Scott Sinclair should have headed an attempt yards from goal instead of passing it to Lewis.

In that relentless last period, the goal was coming. How they enjoyed it when it came.