The Scottish champions begin their bid to qualify for the last 16 of club football's top competition for the third straight year when they host Danish champions Aalborg on Wednesday night.

Parkhead has become a virtual fortress for Gordon Strachan's men in recent seasons, with some of the biggest names in the European game leaving Glasgow empty handed.

In stark contrast, Celtic have an embarrassing record on the road, having claimed just a single point on their travels in the competition's current format.

With holders Manchester United and slick Spaniards Villarreal visiting Parkhead before Christmas, the Glasgow giants face a tough task to maintain the 100% group phase home record which was vital to their progress in the last two seasons.

McDonald is targeting maximum points again, starting on Wednesday night, but he insists he and his team-mates will be trying just as hard to pick up a victory on their travels.

"Every game is a must-win, the home games especially," he said.

"I think that's where we've been strong in the last couple of years and that's got us through to the next stages of the Champions League.

"We don't want to rely on that but it would be nice to get off to a good start at home."

Australia international McDonald, Celtic's top scorer last season with 31 goals, admitted Aalborg were something of an unknown quantity when they came out of the pot as Group E opponents.

But he has every confidence in his manager's ability to identify and exploit their weaknesses.

"We don't know too much about Aalborg at the moment but I'm sure as it gets closer the manager will make sure we get a good look at them," he said.

Celtic warmed up for Wednesday's match with something of a Jekyll and Hyde performance against Motherwell on Saturday.

The first half saw them produce the best 45 minutes of football seen in the SPL this term as they raced to a 4-0 lead, but there was a spell in the second period when they allowed their opponents to pull two goals back and set up a nervous finish.

If they manage anywhere near the level they found before half-time at Fir Park, victory on Wednesday should be a formality.

Indeed, it was the kind of display which would give Celtic a realistic chance of going at least one step further in the Champions League than they have in the last two seasons.

Assuming they are still competing on other fronts, that could bring about the kind of fixture congestion which ultimately cost Rangers when they reached the UEFA Cup final last term.

McDonald believes the fact the Champions League has one fewer round than its sister competition will ensure this does not happen and insisted Celtic have the squad to cope with a four-pronged assault on silverware.

"We made the last 16 of the Champions League last year and we came through that okay and I can't see it being any different this year," he said on Sky Sports News.

"I think it's all a psychological thing and I think that with everything Rangers had last year, they played a lot of games near the end of the season.

"Whereas in the Champions League, if we were to qualify again, it would be two games at a time so I don't think it would be as many games anyway.

"But we've got the squad more than capable to handle it."

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