Celtic Advance In Europe

By Tony Quinn

Filippo Inzaghi broke the scoring record in Europe's top club competition as AC Milan beat Celtic 1-0, although defeat was sweetened for the Bhoys by their qualification for the UEFA Champions League knockout phase. It was the perfect scenario for all involved as Milan won, topped the group, Inzaghi made history in beating Gerd Muller's mark with his 63rd strike, and Celtic went through to the second round for the second year in a row. That was thanks to Shakhtar Donetsk's 2-1 win over Benfica in the other Group D match.

Celtic moved two points clear at the top of the SPL after substitute Derek Riordan's late strike allowed them to snatch a 1-1 draw at home to St. Mirren. Struggling Saints grabbed the opener when Celtic goalkeeper Mark Brown parried a Billy Mehmet shot in the 73rd minute only for Steve McGinn to crack in the rebound. With just five minutes left, Riordan bundled in the leveler after a pass from Dutch midfielder Evander Sno.

Aiden McGeady is the Clydesdale Bank Premier League player of the month for November. Celtic played two SPL matches last month, winning at Kilmarnock and beating Aberdeen, with McGeady on target in a 3-0 scoreline. McGeady also scored the vital goal in the 1-0 Champions League home triumph over Benfica. Celtic have since secured their passage into the last 16 of Europe's top tournament and McGeady would be pleased to avoid in-form Arsenal. "I think I would like to avoid Arsenal because they are capable of beating anybody right now," said McGeady. "Parkhead is a formidable fortress at the minute but I think Arsenal could come here, have 70% of the ball and just play us off the park, to be honest. They are undoubtedly one of the strongest teams in Europe at the moment. If you look around every area of their team they are all either fast, fit or strong."

Gordon Strachan claims he is in no rush to see Derek Riordan leave Parkhead. Riordan has been linked with a January exit after failing to break into the first-team following his arrival from Hibs18 months ago, but Strachan insists he is not looking to offload the striker. He will not be made available for transfer here. He will not be forced out of the door," he said. "We want him here and he doesn't have to go anywhere. Good players have saved us from getting beat."

Meanwhile, Burnley boss Owen Coyle has ruled out a reported £500,000 move for Riordan. Coyle said "That is certainly not true at all, we haven't made a move for anybody."

Celtic are believed to be chasing Colchester full back George Elokobi to strengthen the left-hand side of the defense. The SPL champions have struggled to cope after losing their recognized full-backs to injury, which has forced Gordon Strachan to play players out of position. Colchester are willing to listen to offers from Celtic for Elokobi, according to the player's agent Eddie Duah. "Colchester have said they won't stand in the player's way if an acceptable offer comes in," confirmed Duah. "There is a lot of interest in George but we haven't agreed terms with any other clubs at the moment."

Reports say Maciej Zurawski is on the verge of a move to LA Galaxy. The player's Polish representative Jerzy Kopiec expects to hold talks with the club next week and claims Zurawski could be joining forces with David Beckham in the New Year. "The offer from Galaxy is very serious," he said. "They are really determined to sign Maciej and treat him as a big star. I am flying to Los Angeles this weekend to make things official."

Gordon Strachan believes Mark McGhee is the 'perfect candidate' for the Scotland job. McGhee, who has taken Motherwell to third in the Scottish Premier League this season, is among the favorites to succeed Alex McLeish as boss of the national team. "Mark could do the job, absolutely no problem whatsoever," Strachan said. "There are a lot of good candidates but I think it is perfect timing for him. I know the Motherwell fans will be screaming but I think he is a perfect contender."

Chairman John Reid insists the Parkhead board are doing everything they can to satisfy Gordon Strachan's ambition. Chief executive Peter Lawwell and Strachan have admitted qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League would have minimal impact on Celtic's January transfer targets. Reid stressed the financial disparities between the game in Scotland and major European nations such as England mean they cannot compete at the top level of the transfer market. "This is always the demand made of us," Reid said. "Particularly in Scotland we have financial constraints - if you win you qualify for about £2million, if you finish bottom of the Premier League it's about £35million. Peter Lawwell and Gordon have been talking for some months about the positions we need to strengthen and we will systematically go through the options and alternatives for that and see how we can strengthen the team in those positions."