GORDON Strachan has welcomed Stuart Armstrong’s decision to sign a new two year contract with Celtic and backed him to improve further as a result of playing further Champions League football.

Armstrong’s form has dipped this season and Brendan Rodgers attributed that to his failure to commit his long-term future to the Parkhead club.

But the 25-year-old, who performed well for his country against Slovenia and England last season, put pen to paper on a lucrative new deal last week.

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Strachan, who yesterday named the midfielder in his squad for the Russia 2018 qualifiers against Lithuania and Malta, believes it was the smart move.

Asked if Armstrong’s contract stand-off would have affected his continuing involvement with the national team, he said: “It wouldn’t have made any difference to me.

“Sometimes if you have problems at your club you can turn up at Scotland and it can make you feel great. And vice versa. Sometimes you can turn up feeling great play a horrible game and go back feeling horrible.

“No, I think fresh in my memory are his performances in our last couple of games. You cannot lose that form within a game or two games. So I didn’t have a problem with that.”

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Strachan added: “But I am glad to see everything is sorted out. I think it is a good decision for him. It is a good place to be if he wants to progress.

“The best place to play football is in the Champions League, that’s for sure. It’s a huge thing playing Champions League football.

“When you are playing regular European football, it makes a huge, huge difference.

“It’s a great learning curve for the players to have to deal with big matches, atmospheres and how to deal with travelling.”