IF former manager Martin O'Neill was tagged the Blessed Martin by Celtic fans, isn't it about time Gordon Strachan was afforded the same tribute? The Blessed Gordon would certainly be a deserved tag for the current boss. Forget that Celtic lost last night and had to rely on Benfica to do them a small favour - one which is almost impossible to repay - to reach the last 16 of the Champions League for the season season in a row. This was a fantastic effort by Celtic and a manager who has something special about him. Surely now his few remaining critics should be eating their words and admitting they have a top-class operator in charge of their club. I say they are lucky to have him. O'Neill failed to get Celtic out of the group stages and yet was lauded as the saviour of the club. His successor has had two cracks at it and both times has been successful. That, for me, is remarkable. Think of how many teams, big teams with major stars, won't be joining Celtic and AC Milan for the next stage of the tourney. Then consider how many won't have made it two years in a row. And Strachan doesn't have millions to spend. Scott Brown was a record deal between Scottish clubs but his fee of £4.4million is loose change to most clubs, including group rivals Shakhtar Donetsk. The back four in Milan comprised a keeper who needs a knee operation, two centre-halves at full-back and Steven Pressley playing just his third game this season. In addition, Shunsuke Nakamura, a European football specialist, and one or two others were missing. That's been the story all the way. And still they are in there competing. Let's get one thing straight. Benfica did not get Celtic into the last 16. Celtic did that themselves. They deserved it. To go into the last match with nine points is one hell of an achievement. It wasn't lucky. It was just. Sure, Benfica did Celtic a favour, but winning all your home games gives any team a platform to go on to the next stage. If Celtic had finished third with nine points, as they did under O'Neill, it would have been hard to take. This season's games at Celtic Park, including that thrilling play-off win against Spartak Moscow, have provided four of the best European nights at the stadium in years. Nine points from the group stages is a good end product, even if that away record is as bad as ever. That really has to be addressed if Celtic are to improve. But, boy, is there something to work with. Two last-minute strikes, Scott McDonald's winner against AC Milan and Massimo Donati's last week to disappoint Donetsk, show how vital it is to have a team that will not give up. It's heart - and Strachan said it himself - that got them through those games. Alot of that comes from the manager. It has to. The San Siro was a great place to be. I played in the Celtic side that won the league on the last day of the season in 1986. All the fans spent most of that day at Love Street listening to how Hearts were getting on at Dundee when Albert Kidd did the needful. Last night reminded me of that. Two huge cheers went up when Benfica scored their two goals in Donetsk and made for a great atmosphere, even if it got more tense when the Ukrainians got one back. When Filipo Inzaghi scored things got more tense but then it became obvious that Benfica weren't going to blow it. Top marks go to AC Milan who played You'll Never Walk Alone over the tannoy. That really started the party and I'm sure it went on long into the night. Celtic aren't good enough to win the European Cup but could make it to the quarter-finals. For that to happen, quality players need to come in. Strachan has bought in January before but for a number of reasons they were short-term signings. Cash dictated that. Now he has many more millions to spend and the guys coming in won't just be for the next European game. They will be for the next three or four years. A last-16 game against one of the top clubs is going to earn the club millions. That provides a chance to buy James McFadden and/or Shaun Maloney plus at least one defender. Not just back-up players. Guys who will walk into the team. Strachan has delivered time and again. A league championship with a rebuilt team, then another with a new team. Throw in two cups and progress in Europe and it's hard to criticise the man. One or two still moan about him but some supporters are never happy. Let's just enjoy the fact Celtic are there and Rangers need only a point to join them. So take a bow, Gordon. You have to say he has got it right and put the club in an extremely comfortable position. In the process, he has made himself a Celtic legend. Is it just me or does Artmedia Bratislava seem like a million years ago? As told to Neil Cameron | 
