CELTIC can qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League for a second consecutive season if results go their way on Wednesday.

CELTIC can qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League for a second consecutive season if results go their way on Wednesday.

But the game which matters most to everyone at Parkhead remains the one against Aberdeen tomorrow as it could eventually prove to be worth several million pounds more to the current champions.

Wedged between the Group D games against Shakhtar Donetsk next midweek and AC Milan the following Tuesday are SPL games against the Dons and Hearts at Tynecastle.

These stiff tests are vital to Celtic as they attempt to hold on to the three-point advantage they hold at the top of the table.

Fletch has Hoops hope

STEVEN FLETCHER hopes he can become the next Hibs starlet to join Celtic. The striker has rejected a new offer from the capital club, and has informed manager John Collins he would like to be sold when the transfer window re-opens in six weeks.

Parkhead boss Gordon Strachan has been monitoring the 20-year-old for the past two seasons. But Celtic - who have already plundered Hibs for Gary Caldwell, Derek Riordan, Chris Killen and Scott Brown - would face stiff opposition if they wanted to land Fletcher.

With Rangers also keeping tabs on him, bidding would be expected to start at around £2million.

Fletcher's agent, Scott Fisher, confirmed they have reached an impasse over a new deal at Hibs and added: "The offer Hibs have made Steven is insulting. He went to see the manager and made clear his desire to leave the club when the transfer window opens."

With the future of Maciej Zurawski likely to be reviewed before the January transfer window, adding another attacking player in Celtic's squad would appeal to Strachan.

And, with the winners of the championship likely to gain direct entry to next season's Champions League group stage - provided this year's winners of Europe's top prize qualify directly through their league position - there is much more than the usual kudos up for grabs in our domestic title race.

Retaining the championship has always been the No.1 priority for Gordon Strachan, and not just because it would be the first time since the days of Jock Stein that a Celtic manager had completed such a treble.

But, with the money generated having an impact in the long term on the funds available for squad-strengthening, the added incentive is certainly there.

Reaching the last 16, as Celtic could do again on Wednesday if they beat Shakhtar by more than two goals and Benfica fail to beat Milan - was worth between £1.5m and £2m to the club when they achieved this 12 months ago.

However, heading straight to the group stage without the need to jump through the hoops of qualifying banks around £10m.

There is no argument Celtic need to add more quality to their team, something Strachan accepts and hopes to do during the next two transfer windows.

The pressing need for full-back cover is top of his agenda. But enticing players to the club during the January window has historically proved much more difficult than lining up signings for the summer, not least because most of the men you would want to bolster your team are already cup-tied in Europe.

So, once again the emphasis will be on future planning, Strachan always working at least one window ahead, and very aware of contracts running down and the opportunities they afford to a club whose budget can't compete with the big hitters they attempt to compete alongside in the Champions League.

Chief executive Peter Lawwell concedes that qualifying from the group stage is not an imperative in the club's fiscal targeting, whereas getting into the competition certainly gets Celtic to where they need to be.

He said: "We have turned the corner in a financial sense and have created quite a solid foundation on which we can build, looking forward."

But he added pertinently: "We need to play in the Cham-pions League, which helps us quite significantly."

Lawwell put domestic success in perspective when he explained: "Financially, winning the league in itself is not significant one way or the other.

"But what it does is it gives you the potential for entry to the Champions League.

"In a football sense, clearly we want to be champions. That's the No.1 priority of everyone here at the club. We want to get three in a row.

"On the basis of that, in a financial sense, that gets you into the Champions League, and that's where the revenues arrive, that's where the profile of the club is greater, and that's where we want to be every year."

Of course, reaching the last 16 for the first time in the club's history gave everyone at Celtic a taste for life in the higher echelons of the European game.

But so many imponderables are at play, it would be folly for any astute business plan to have this level of success on the field as a necessity.

Lawwell agreed all the stops will be pulled out to qualify whether it be this week, or next, but added: "There is a model here which works without that.

"So it's not vital, but it is a bonus. And we have given ourselves a chance."

If Strachan can deliver back-to-back last 16 places, it will be a remarkable achievement, not least given the financial clout enjoyed by the other Group D clubs, Milan, Benfica and Shakhtar.

The Ukrainian side alone spent around £40m last summer as they continued to import talent from countries such as Brazil and Italy.

But Lawwell would not anticipate qualification triggering an immediate visit from the manager with a list of targets he wants pursued.

Knee-jerk reactions are not the style. Long-term planning is. The chief executive explained: "We sit down with Gordon and we look at what he wants, what he needs.

"We recognise the commitment as a board to maintain and improve the quality of the squad and we will be doing all we can to meet that objective.

"We've been planning this for a while. We understand what Gordon wants, and we will endeavour to deliver that."

Everything will be done within the carefully crafted budget, designed to reverse the unsustainable losses which created serious problems.

If the pot can be topped up through even more success at European level, then it will be smiles all round.

However, the widest grins will be reserved for the day another title flag - and the golden ticket to the Champions League which goes with it - is secured.