Paul Gascoigne spent the last half of his career plagued with speculation about his apparently bulging waistline and barrel chest.

But even in the midst of the speculation, Gazza scored one of the goals of the century when he sprinted downfield for England in Euro 96 to score against Scotland.

Now Strachan insists McDonald - who scored 32 goals last season - is falling victim to the same kind of criticism after just a couple of goals so far in he new campaign.

"Unfortunately, Scott's a bit like Gascoigne," said Celtic supremo. "When Gascoigne played well he was strong and physical but when he didn't play well he was fat - that's the way he was perceived.

"Scott has been looking better in every training session and it's amazing how a lack of a wee bit of self-confidence affects your speed. I've been there myself and you can over-analyse it.

"But trust me he'll be back to scoring goals very soon. In fact, he has scored already this season and been a threat when he has played.

"He's also working hard in training but it's a Gascoigne thing. Play well and people talk about your strength and upper body being fantastic physically. Don't play well and you're fat."

He added: "Scott's strong-minded and knows this is something all strikers go through, including Wayne Rooney. Look at Robbie Keane - were we to believe he would never score another goal?

"We're also fortunate in that we've got a strong squad who continue to add to our goals tally. But it's funny how it works - last season a couple of players scored 50 goals and it was suggested it would be better if they were spread around the team.

"Now everyone's worried about one of our strikers - you can't win."

McDonald bounced back from the brickbats overnight by scoring his side's third in the 4-0 rout of Scottish Premier League new boys Hamilton Academicals.