Gordon Strachan has revealed how Champions League foe Sir Alex Ferguson provided the inspiration for his new squad-rotation policy.

The manager has resolved to juggle his player resources in the coming weeks in a quest to assess the pros and cons of resting key men.

Implemented in the aftermath of the Old Firm defeat to Rangers, the manoeuvre has already reaped results and looks certain to continue against Aberdeen at Parkhead on Sunday.

Celtic boss Gordon Strachan has taken a leaf out of Sir Alex Ferguson's book by implementing a rotation policy at Parkhead

A relatively common practice down south, Strachan has admitted that it was former Dons boss Sir Alex, rather than Liverpool’s Rafa Benitez,who provided the spark for the move.

‘All you are doing is copying what Alex Ferguson is doing and having a look at what he does.

'I’m a big fan of the way Manchester United play, so you ask what is he doing?

'He brings on Darren Fletcher now and then, plus you see a bench with Carlos Tevez coming off it and you think: “Well, there must be something in that.”’

Celtic face the Old Trafford club back-to-back in the Champions League after Tuesday’s game against Villarreal in Spain.

Strachan, who is close to signing young American back -up goalkeeper Dominic Cervi, hinted that his team will again be along unpredictable lines for the clash against Jimmy Calderwood's side.

He said: ‘You speak to other coaches and finish up thinking: “OK, I can see the point now”.

‘But the squad I now have has allowed me to do that more than it has before.

‘We’ve had periods in seasons when we’ve looked a bit tired, so I’ve thought about what we could do about that.

‘I decided: “Let’s have ago at this.”

'The other thing is that I now feel I have a squad who can do it.‘ 

Celtic's Shunsuke Nakamura could be on his way back to Japan

'I look at the game against Livingston and feel it was the best performance we’ve had against a lower league team since I’ve been here.’

Cervi , meanwhile, is poised to sign a three-year deal as soon as approval is granted for an Italian passport.

The 22-year-old is a free agent after rejecting a new contract with Chicago Fire and has impressed on trial.

Celtic have also been linked with Swiss midfielder Sandro Burki and Sportsmail understands a deal could be put in place for the January transfer window.

Strachan said: ‘I can’t say anything about the Swiss player — he is with a team at the moment.

'The guys in the background are doing all the work with anybody we need for January.’

Neither has there been a resolution to the Shunsuke Nakamura situation, despite agent Roberto Takuda’s visit to Glasgow this week.

Takuda is expected back in Scotland in November for more talks, with indications strong that— as Sportsmail first revealed— Nakamura may return home in January.

In an unexpected development,  fellow countryman Koki Mizuno — yet to play a competitive first-team game for Celtic —could also return home.