Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel insists his focus shifted from the Champions League to Kilmarnock at midnight on Tuesday.
The Denmark international enjoyed a 38th birthday treat as Celtic swept to a 3-1 win over Bundesliga side RB Leipzig to move on to seven points from four games.
Celtic fans are starting to dream of progress with their side firmly in the top half of the league, but Schmeichel is too experienced to think that far ahead.
“I think that’s probably the biggest mistake we can make, to get carried away,” he said.
“This is a ruthless competition. If we are performing at the level that we were against Atalanta defensively and particularly the entire performance against Leipzig, then we have a good opportunity to progress. But it’s about staying humble.
“It’s about staying grounded now and not getting too carried away.
“A fairly different challenge comes now, away to Kilmarnock and all the challenges it brings, with the pitch and everything else.
“In modern football, you have to be on your game in every single game. There are no easy games and we are in no way expecting an easy game on Sunday.
“That’s the beauty and the challenge of playing at a club like Celtic. You have to be able to adapt to all the different competitions you’re in. You play a semi-final one day, then you play in the Champions League, and then you play in the league.
“You have to be able to cope with that demand, the physical demand, the mental demand. We’ve shown all the way through the season, up to now, that we’ve been able to do that. Now it’s a new challenge.
“Like I say, Tuesday’s gone. We’re not thinking of that anymore. That was a great night, a fantastic night for all of us, but at midnight, we park that and we move on to the next one.”
The former Manchester City player has long practised the art of living in the moment.
“Honestly, modern football now, there are so many games,” he said. “If you’re not in the now, if you’re not in the present, then you lose focus. You can’t lose focus in this game.
“It’s honestly, in my experience, the most important thing is to stay focused on the here and the now.
“It’s been a really good start but that’s it. It’s a start. It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. So every single step along the way deserves the attention because that’s what’s ultimately going to make you achieve your goals.”
When asked how he had learned to maintain that focus, Schmeichel said: “It’s quite easy – just do it. There’s no kind of strategy to it.
“I think it’s just experience. Experience of going through different types of leagues, different types of seasons where you’re winning, different types of seasons when you’re losing.
“You learn that you don’t get too high, you don’t get too low. You just move on, get on to the next one.
“We’re in a period now until probably somewhere around March where we’ve got a game every three or four days. So the best thing you can do is, you feel whatever you need to feel until midnight and then you move on.”