Outstanding contribution brings McDonald new five-year contract

SCOTT McDonald was rewarded for an outstanding debut season with Celtic when he signed a new five-year contract with the Scottish champions yesterday but the striker believes the real test of his credentials as a successful player for them is just about to begin.

In an honest and lyrical assessment of his standing at the club he supported as a boy, McDonald compared the challenge facing him in the 2008-09 campaign and beyond with that of a breakthrough musical act attempting to follow up a critically acclaimed first album.

His 31 goals for Celtic last season were crucial to the retention of the SPL title for a third consecutive year and progress to the last 16 of the Champions League for a second successive tournament, setting a standard McDonald knows he will now be expected to maintain or even improve upon.

"You can just be a one-hit wonder at a club, I know that," said the 24-year-old Australian international. "But if you bring out record after record and keep producing the goods, then you will be known as a true artiste.

"The new season could be the real reckoning of me as a Celtic player. I want to show that it wasn't just a one-off. Everything seems to have gone my way and, touch wood, that will continue.

"For the club to repay me in this way with a new contract is fantastic. I've set high standards now and there will be higher expectations of me as a result. I would always expect better of myself anyway, but it does put added pressure on. There is always something to prove, always someone to prove wrong, and I'm looking forward to it."

McDonald was given an early release from the Australian national squad this week with their passage to the final phase of the Asian World Cup qualifying campaign having been secured ahead of this weekend's final preliminary round tie against Qatar.

His first priority was to return to Glasgow with his agent to conclude negotiations on his new contract as swiftly as possible, putting an end to speculation which had linked him with a move to the English Premier League this summer.

"I could have stayed away until July," said McDonald, "but I wanted to commit my future to this football club. I heard the talk about clubs in England, but if Celtic wanted to get rid of me they would have told me. I see myself staying at Celtic for a long time and thankfully so do they.

"It has been a long season, and I'll now get a couple of weeks holiday with my girlfriend. The lads who were on international duty are allowed extra time off if they want it, but I think I'll report back for pre-season with the rest of the lads on 4 July. There could be new signings at the club, maybe new rivals for a place in the team, and I want to get off to the best possible start in the new season."

McDonald believes Celtic manager Gordon Strachan will be as driven as ever in his determination to win the SPL title again after holding off a much stronger challenge from Rangers which went right to the final day last month.

The Ibrox club, of course, failed in a bid to sign McDonald from Motherwell just five months before Strachan took him to Celtic and the forward is now grateful for the hand fate dealt him.

"I think things happen for a reason," he said. "I was disappointed at the time Rangers had their bid for me turned down, because you don't feel opportunities like that will come along too often. I didn't think Celtic would come in for me, but fortunately Gordon did and from that moment on, there was only one place I wanted to be.

"Gordon is ready to do it all over again in the new season. People ask what more he can do as Celtic manager. Well, he can win four titles in a row, he can get us to the last eight of the Champions League and he can win the two domestic trophies we didn't win last season. I'm sure he is hungry for all of that, I know the players are.

"If I can score more goals, win more titles and trophies, play in more Champions League matches, then I'll have surpassed all my expectations of what I could do in my career. I know you don't last long at a club like Celtic if you don't keep on doing it, so that's my challenge."

McDonald revealed his long term commitment to Celtic could also persuade his Scottish-born parents to leave their home in Melbourne and return to their roots.

"It's a huge decision for them," he said, "and they are still talking about it. Australia is their home now, but they feel they are missing out a wee bit in not being able to see their son play for one of the biggest clubs in the world every week."