McGeady is determined to march Celtic to a third SPL title in succession

• More Celtic news

A 1-0 defeat to the Catalan aristocrats in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie allowed all parties to leave the stadium with their pride intact.

If supporters embrace grander expectations, then so do the players. For those who play the game, however, brave words are invariably embraced by a sober acceptance of reality.

Scroll down for more

As Aiden McGeady observed in the bowels of the cavernous footballing cathedral, Celtic were never likely to win the Champions League. Neither were they ever expected to overturn a 3-2 home defeat from the first leg.

So much so that the odds being offered by one online bookmaker on a 2-0 win for Celtic on Tuesday night were longer than those available for a 10- 0 victory to Frank Rijkaard's side. The bookies are nothing if not pragmatic.

As a result, Celtic are free now to concentrate on domestic concerns. As McGeady points out, it's only by winning a third successive SPL title that the players humbled by Barca's artisans can hope to improve on Europe's biggest stage.

"We now want to retain the Double back home," said the 21-year-old. "We want to win every competition we play in. The Champions League has gone but, if we're being realistic, we never had a chance of winning it.

"The main objective has always been the league. We want to retain the title and the Scottish Cup, as well. Cups are nice but the SPL is always No1. We'd love to get three-in-a-row this season and get back into the Champions League."

With the proud home record on which their European feats have been founded shattered two weeks ago, Celtic always knew Tuesday was a significant ask.

Boss Gordon Strachan had compared it to climbing Everest. The good news was nobody died in their hiking boots due to a conservative line-up designed primarily to avoid the kind of savaging which can shatter a team's morale.

The knowledge that the SPL stands at a critical stage made it vital to avoid a hefty defeat. That they did so, mainly as a result of Artur Boruc, is neither here nor there.

Their aspirations largely satisfied just by making the last 16 , the Parkhead side left Barcelona yesterday with their reputation largely intact, if not exactly enhanced.

"We didn't play to our capabilities in the first-half at the Nou Camp and that was disappointing," McGeady said.

"But we were more comfortable on the ball in the second half and had more possession. We gave a good account of ourselves. It has been a good experience for everyone to play at this level and at this stage of the Champions League. It would have been nice to sneak a goal in the Nou Camp but it just wasn't to be."

For McGeady in particular, the night was one of frustration.

Starved of the ball in the first leg, the Ireland international saw more action in Spain, but found a swarm of players tracking his every movement. Running into red-and-blue traps became the story of the evening.

"I got more of the ball than I did in the first leg," said the winger. "I got it further up the pitch and felt I could do something when I got possession.

"It was a tough game but I'm pleased that we saw more of the ball and got to show more of what we can do. The second-half performance bodes well for the future, as we showed we can play on this stage.

"You only learn by playing against top - class opponents - and Barcelona have top-class players."

Having reached the last 16 of the Champions League for the past two seasons, Celtic can now aspire to the last eight, a stage they have failed to grace since losing 3-2 on aggregate to Real Madrid in 1980.

How realistic that aim truly is remains debatable, given the financial straitjacket which constricts Scottish clubs.

A revitalised Rangers offer a further obstacle to Celtic's European ambitions. A flattering coefficient performance this season - the best by Scottish clubs for almost a quarter of a century - will enhance the chances of two SPL clubs reaching the Champions League proper once more next season.

Only by winning the title will the door to automatic qualification swing ajar, however. So Celtic have little time to lick their relatively minor post-Barca wounds.

"March is going to be a big month," said McGeady. "But having so many away games could actually make it easier for us. Our away form has been quite good recently and we've managed to get some good results. It could work well for us to be playing away from home. People might not expect us to get a result every time but we are confident of picking up the points.

"Our away support is very good and very vocal. At home, we sometimes find the crowd can get anxious. If we don't score in the first 15 or 20 minutes, or even lose one in the last 10 minutes, they can get jittery.

"It will be a grind with so many games coming up - but Rangers also have a lot of tough fixtures in the next few weeks. Every match will matter towards the league title and we know we need to pick up maximum points.

"There is a lot of football still to be played this season, but March could be the decisive month. Credit to Rangers. We have kept winning in the league over the past few weeks, but so have they and they've stayed ahead of us.

"However, they will drop points between now and the end of the season and it's up to us to capitalise on that."

To that end, Celtic might take some solace in the Ibrox club's continued presence in Europe, albeit in the UEFA Cup. However grudging.