Strachan: Saw positives

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Celtic manager Gordon Strachan had reason to be positive after watching his side lose 1-0 away to Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.

The Hoops were consigned to yet another defeat on their travels after conceding a superb 67th minute free-kick from Marcos Senna.

Despite the defeat - which means Celtic have now taken just one point from a possible 48 away from home at this stage of the competition - Strachan believes the performance shows his team belongs among Europe's elite.

Best

Strachan told Sky Sports: "For 55 minutes, I thought that was the best we have played away from home.

"I asked the lads for a performance - forget about the results - and the performance for the first 55 minutes said, 'Yes, you belong at this level'."

He added: "After that, they worked on an area of our team which had a problem for a while - and it got them back into the game.

Good game

"Even so, the players should be pleased with a lot of the things they did. We gave them a right good game tonight."

Strachan added the players felt aggrieved at the award of the telling free-kick, after Paul Hartley was judged to have fouled Joseba Llorente.

"The boys are a bit upset about the way the free-kick came about - because they believe the guy threw himself to the ground," he said.

"But they [Villarreal] showed what a right good side they are when they went 1-0 up."