WE HAVE not even celebrated Hallowe'en, but Fraser Forster is already making New Year resolutions, both at club and country level.

As he heads into 2014, the giant Geordie shot-stopper wants the Hoops to remain involved in European football.

Forster believes that will allow him to achieve the second phase of his plan for next year, to be part of the England squad which he hopes will be heading to the World Cup finals in Brazil.

While the fate of Roy Hodgson's side will be determined over the next few days, when they face Montenegro on Friday then Poland on Tuesday, Celtic's future involvement in European competition - whether it be the Champions League last 16 or the Europa League - will take a little longer to establish.

But while all of that remains a clutch of ifs and maybes, what Forster knows for certain is that only by continuing to perform to his very best in the remaining Group H games with the Hoops will he have any chance of making either ambition for 2014 a reality.

As he joined up with his England squad mates this week, he received another round of congratulations for his amazing displays in the San Siro against AC Milan and again when Barcelona came to Glasgow on matchday two.

Even though Celtic remain pointless and rooted to the bottom of the table after those opening two matches, Forster's stock has risen considerably.

Ironically, this has happened in tandem with England No.1, Joe Hart, suffering a series of high-profile mishaps which have put his position at club and country in question.

Hodgson has decided to stand by his man.

While it was widely reported he is not yet convinced Forster is ready to take over, a more accurate assessment of the position of the England boss is that he does not want to expose any untried keeper to possible damage which could be done to their progress if they were to play in these do-or-die games and make any kind of error.

So, Forster will again be on a looking-and-learning brief for this Wembley double-header, while using every minute of training in between to emphasise to Hodgson he is ready when the manager wants to call upon him.

The likeable big keeper believes he has already presented a strong case, with a consistency this season which confirms he is back to his very best.

But while he routinely pulls off saves like the one against John Sutton during last weekend's win over Motherwell, Forster accepts the Champions League nights are where he will always be judged by those looking on from afar.

"It's very important," he said of performances on such occasions. "It's such a high level to be playing at, the pinnacle of European football.

"If you can perform well in those games, it is a better stage, and it gets a lot more coverage, so people tend to sit down and watch more."

If and when Forster does get his chance to transfer this Champions League form to the international arena, it will silence those who tried to tell him moving to Scotland from Newcastle was a giant backward step in his career.

The former economics student reckons that argument just doesn't add up any more.

FORSTER said: "If you are playing in the Champions League, it's a high level and people can't really argue with that.

"People see me playing Champions League football, and that has been crucial for me over the last year or so.

"It's just important we do as well as we can and be playing European football after Christmas."

Forster is a man who likes to set himself targets, the higher the better, and he already views next year as being the most important in his career to date.

But he knows he can't get to where we wants to go without the help of others, both off and on the field.

Indeed, he acknowledges he would not have reached the stage he has without the belief shown in him by Neil Lennon and the work put in by Hoops goalie coach, Stevie Woods.

When the whistle goes, it is the men directly in front of him that he relies upon.

In particular, he is more than happy to share the praise heaped on the team's defensive record this season with Efe Ambrose and Virgil van Dijk, whose partnership is still developing but which already has a look of longevity.

"They have been brilliant," said the Englishman of the Nigerian and the Dutchman.

"Virgil has come in and settled down very quickly. He has been tremendous, and Efe has been unbelievable, defensively or on the ball carrying it into midfield.

"It's a fantastic partnership, and, hopefully, we can keep them both fit and have a settled back four."

Of the players who were brought in during another summer of change, van Dijk has undoubtedly made the biggest impact.

Forster himself was the subject of speculation he might be joining Victor Wanyama, Gary Hooper and Kelvin Wilson exiting the club as Benfica watched on.

But, for now, the 25-year-old is happy to play his part in helping Celtic retain their championship and make up ground in the Champions League.

He admits it has been a challenge to wave goodbye to key players and to help their replacements bed in. But with 17 games gone, Forster can see real progress.

"It's been a tough one," he told Celtic TV as he reflected on the departures which brought in around £18.5million.

"We lost big players in big positions over the summer. We lost most of the spine of our team. But Virgil has done well, and the others have come in and been effective.

"We are still a young squad, but the other lads have helped the new signings to settle in. I think we are looking pretty strong."