Strachan said his side must avoid defeat at Villarreal

Gordon Strachan says Celtic must take something from their next Champions League match away to Villarreal, after drawing a blank at home to Aalborg.

The Bhoys have never won a Champions League match on their travels in five editions of the competition.

"We've got to go and try and win a game away from home, it becomes imperative now," Strachan said.

"In the first half we fell below the standard we've set, and the result leaves us with a real challenge."

However, when assessing the match the Celtic manager felt his side did enough to take three points.

"In the first half we weren't at our best in certain areas," said Strachan.

"But in the second 45 minutes, territorially and in terms of chances and crosses, that's the most we've made in the Champions League.

"We weren't at our best in a lot of areas and you really need to be in order to win Champions Leagues.

"We weren't clinical enough and we never really made their goalkeeper make outstanding saves."

Winger Aiden McGeady was again left on the bench, and Strachan says continuity was the reason.

"We played well on Saturday and I wanted to try and keep Shaun Maloney playing in that position," he explained.

Celtic did have the ball in the net after Scott Brown played a neat one-two with Shunsuke Nakamura.

And there appeared to be no complaints when the assistant referee flagged for offside.

MY SPORT: DEBATE Give your reaction to the 0-0 draw at Celtic Park

But the Celtic manager was adamant the goal should have stood.

"It was onside, and I know for a fact that the guy the referee sent off wasn't the right guy too, so it wasn't a great night."

Despite Barry Robson missing a penalty that could have sealed the points, Strachan had words of encouragement for the midfielder.

"I've been there myself, but Barry was a big performer for us at the end of last season, and he was a big performer on Saturday," he said.

"He'll probably have a long night, but he'll come back from it."