I have to show I’m no one-hit wonder, insists Celtic striker Scott McDonald

Not just on the grounds of taste - valid as that would be - but more the fact that one-hit wonders are most definitely not his thing.

It is a tag McDonald yesterday vowed would never be pinned on him.

Prize guy: McDonald is pictured with the SPL trophy yesterday after signing an improved five-year deal

After a chart-topping 31-goal debut season with Celtic, the Australian is anxious to continue savouring the sweet sound of celebration over the course of the improved five-year contract he has penned with the SPL champions.

The slightly jaded look that rested on McDonald's features after jetting back to Scotland from Down Under vanished as he spoke excitedly inside the Walfrid Suite at Parkhead of the challenges next term will present.

Standards have been set that he will strive determinedly to maintain or improve.

His impact in the last campaign confirmed his £650,000 signing from Motherwell as one of the finest bargains of recent times in Scottish football.

McDonald has gathered many laurels for his productivity but any inclination to rest on them vanished almost the instant the euphoria of Celtic's comeback title triumph faded.

John Hartson's previous insistence that any Parkhead striker could only truly make his name through repeated seasons of high scoring is one the 24-year-old wholeheartedly agrees with.

"I think he is 100-per-cent correct," said McDonald. "You can be a one-hit wonder in anything. If you're a singer and bring out record after record and keep producing, then you are known as a true artist.

"It is no different in football. This year could be the real making of me as a football player - to show people that it's not just been a one-off and that I truly am a good goalscorer.

"There are going to be higher expectations next season and I fully understand that. I expect that of myself, anyway. I'll try not to put added pressure on myself but just go out there and do what I did last year. There's always someone to prove wrong and I'm looking forward to doing that.

"I said right from the word go that this is the club I always wanted to be at. I'm just delighted that my future is secure with Celtic."

Chest control: Scott McDonald in action during an Australian training session in June

McDonald's eagerness to embrace the new campaign will see him forego extra summer rest. He has spent the last couple of weeks traversing Australia and the Middle East with his national side during their World Cup qualifying campaign and now will finally go on holiday with his girlfriend.

International commitments mean he is not expected to link up immediately with the rest of Gordon Strachan's squad when they return to pre-season training at Lennoxtown but McDonald is keen to be involved from the very outset.

"Pre-season training starts on July 4 but the lads who have been away with the international teams are allowed a bit of extra time," he said. "I'll see how I feel after my holidays but I'll probably come back right at the start, anyway. I don't like missing out and being behind anyone else.

"Irrespective of what signings are made, and the competition that creates, it's about what is best for me. A good pre-season can make the difference for the rest of the campaign."

With Alexander Frei, Roman Pavluchenko and Darren Bent being monitored by Celtic, McDonald can expect some interesting arrivals.

His own future was the subject of snippets of speculation before he committed to the club until 2013, with both Everton and Newcastle United thought to have been keeping an eye on his situation.

The player, though, insisted the goldfish bowl of life with the Old Firm is an all-encompassing experience he could not match anywhere else.

"I remember being a 12-year-old and wanting the autographs of all the players coming out of Celtic Park," McDonald recalled. "It's a fantastic position to now be coming out of that door and everyone wants a piece of you. How could you not like that?

"It's a unique environment. When I go away with Australia, I speak to players who are with Premiership clubs and it's not the same for them. I only needed to go to Dubai this summer to see how many Celtic supporters were turning up at the Australian training sessions. It was incredible."

McDonald was speaking as Kyle Lafferty held contract talks with Rangers on the other side of the city.

The Northern Ireland striker had been previously courted by Celtic, just as McDonald was the subject of a failed bid from Ibrox before he agreed to join Strachan's side.

The Aussie, though, insisted he didn't think about how things might have worked out differently.

"No, not at all," said McDonald. "Things happen for a reason. At the time, I was probably disappointed I didn't get to Rangers because you don't think an opportunity like that will come around too often.

"I never felt Celtic would seriously come in for me at that stage. Once they did, there was only one club I ever wanted to go to."

McDonald fully credits Strachan for lifting him and the team out of its spring mini-slump to go on and snatch last season's title. He never believed the Parkhead manager would walk away after achieving three-in-a-row and is convinced the collective desire for further success is stronger than ever.

"What could the manager do next? He could get four titles,"said McDonald. "He could take us to the last eight of the Champions League and we could win the other two trophies we didn't win last season."

As far as McDonald is concerned, the hits will keep on coming.