An outbreak of "sore hearts" was the most serious complaint arising from Celtic's midweek European defeat to Benfica. Gordon Strachan's own sense of disappointment at Wednesday's late capitulation in Estadio da Luz was tempered by the knowledge that his young side took another important step in their learning curve.

The arrival of new signings such as Massimo Donati, Scott Brown and Scott McDonald has lowered the age profile and given the team more mobility.

It has, however, left them short on experience, particularly on big occasions such as Wednesday and last Saturday's Old Firm game. In last season's Champions League campaign, Celtic were able to call upon experienced figures such as Neil Lennon and Paul Telfer.

Strachan spoke of his intention to stick with his young recruits as they come of age at the top level. "They're a young bunch and, over the last week, we have learned a couple of lessons which has made our squad stronger," he said.

"Only through time can these boys get that experience. You can't give them a tablet, they have to go through games like that to get it. Even Massimo Donati is not used to regular football at the highest level. It's new to Scott Brown, new to Scott McDonald. Gary Caldwell and John Kennedy have not had much of it, either. You can either bring in experience or leave them to it, and they can get going themselves.

"It'd be nice just to have a couple of experienced guys there: Rangers have got David Weir. As a younger guy, it's nice to look around when the game seems a bit hard and get reassurance from someone saying, I've been here and it's not as big a problem as you think it is. This happens in loads of games.' Even Telfer would calm people down. Nothing fazed him."

Strachan was effusive in his praise of his team's "guts and application" against Benfica, though he pinpointed their lack of ball retention as a factor in their eventual defeat.

"If we had passed the ball better, I think that would have helped us. If you keep the ball longer, you don't have to chase it. If you chase it, you get tired. When you get tired, you make mistakes."

Celtic's relentless schedule ensures they have little time to wallow in the disappointment of midweek. Motherwell's visit today will bring them back down to earth and pit Strachan against Mark McGhee, his close friend and former Aberdeen team-mate. The Celtic manager has followed McGhee's managerial career closely and is not surprised at Motherwell's renaissance.

"He McGhee started the process of where Reading are now. They nearly got to the Premiership with him. He's a top manager and a top bloke. He did well at Wolves, too.

"Mick McCarthy and he are the two who didn't seem to get a lot of money at Wolves but did a smashing job. Mark is playing a system, 4-3-3, which is becoming a trend in Scottish football. There will be different systems today and that can make for a better game."

Strachan also put McGhee up in his house in Lanarkshire at the start of the season. "I forgot he was in the house when we came back from America. Lesley Strachan's wife and I were sitting watching television one night and heard someone rumbling about. We thought we had burglars. He came waltzing through and said: What are you doing in my house?'"

Chris Killen could retain his place this afternoon after turning in a decent shift as a lone striker on his Champions League debut in midweek.

"It was a little bit of a surprise to start but I've been keeping myself ready for the last month and was hoping to get the call," he said. "The boys worked so hard and came away with nothing. A point would have been massive, but we have to put it right when we play them at home."

Killen also expressed hope of getting a run out alongside Scott McDonald, his fellow Antipodean, today. "It would be nice to play up there with someone else. Hopefully, Scott and I can get a few games together and see what happens."

Killen flew to Fiji to play for New Zealand during the last international break, but his country's World Cup qualifier was postponed due to a visa row. The match was eventually played the following weekend, but it highlighted the many frustrations involved in representing his country.

"It was a bit of a nightmare. I flew 11,000 miles to get home and the first game was called off. It took three planes, 24 hours in the air and a 32-hour round trip. There's two games in next month's international window. The New Zealand manager understands that it is sometimes not feasible to go back for friendly games.

"If there's a chance of me playing for Celtic, then it's not worth the journey to play in a game which might not even happen.

"But the forthcoming games are World Cup and Confederations Cup qualifiers."