CELTIC and Barcelona may share a listing in the Deloitte Football Money League, but the chasm between the haves and have nots is as wide as ever on the field.

That much was hammered home when the Catalan artisans brought their mega-rich array of talent to Celtic Park.

One look at the men who did not start for Frank Rijkaard's side underlined the imbalance.

Xavi, Samuel Eto'o and Eidur Gudjohnsen had to settle for cameo appearances towards the end; Lilian Thuram, Silvinho and Giovani were not even required to remove their track-suit tops.

While, back in Barcelona, the prodigious talent of Bojan Krkic and the experienced Gianluca Zambrotta and Edmilson could only hope they might at least make the squad for the return game a week on Tuesday.

Gordon Strachan knows he is as likely to be handed £20m to sign a player as he is to lead his side to the Champions League.

But that does not deter the Celtic manager from aiming to compete with the best teams in the world, of which Barcelona are undoubtedly one. Strachan works to the principle that if you accept second best, you might not even get that.

In his debrief of Wednesday night, he will tell his players the exit door from this season's competition might be beckoning, but they will not be pushed through it without a fight.

To achieve this, a much better performance will be required in the Nou Camp. With around 10,000 Hoops fans already booked to be in attendance, Strachan believes making a fist of it in Barcelona is the least that should be expected of his side.

Using the lessons learned from their mistakes in the 3-2 defeat at Celtic Park will be a key element in achieving this goal.

He said: "We'll try our best to put on a show, for fans we know are travelling over to Barcelona.

"But, to be fair, we tried to put on a show in the first leg. The guts our players showed was fantastic, but our ability let us down at times.

"People might say they are simple passes. But I still say the 10-15 yard pass is the most important in games.

"Barcelona proved that. If you look at where their moves started, it was always combinations involving 10-15yard passes. Then, when the time was right, the bigger, killer pass was played.

"They also have tremendous movement. But this comes from their ability to keep the ball so well. This allows the guys up front to get into dangerous positions. If you keep the ball, strikers can, in their own time, walk into where they can hurt you.

"If you are rushed because you can't retain the ball, then you are playing the ball forward to strikers who are not ready to receive it. That's what we were doing.

"The quality of pass the likes of Scott McDonald was receiving meant he had to fight for it more often than not. A good team keeps the ball, and the forward players can get into positions where they ask questions of defenders, such as: Do I go in there with him, or do I hold my position?' "We're not at that stage yet in European development, though we are not alone. At this level we have to be able to make five or six passes to allow our strikers to get into positions which make defenders uncomfortable and make them think."

Celtic are in the last 16 for the second year running. Looking at the 15 others confirms they continue to fight above their financial weight, mirroring their appearance in Deloitte's rich list.

But Strachan does not concern himself with money in the bank, just players on the park, and he recognises gold when he sees it.

He said: "I said it immediately after the game. Having had time to watch the game again, I have no reason to alter my opinion.

"That's the best squad I've come across in my life in terms of naturally-talented players.

"You might have come up against a more formidable machine in Sir Alex Ferguson's team which had Keane, Beckham and all of them. But, for natural talent, Barcelona are phenomenal."

On the uneven playing surface which is the transfer market, Celtic can only hope to counter this with organisation and sweat.

"Try looking at the back four which started for us," said Strachan. "It cost just £500,000."

And it was all for Lee Naylor.

"The real truth about the difference between us in midweek was that we simply didn't keep the ball well enough, so we got tired because we were having to chase it all night.

"Barcelona played Henry up through the middle and two wide men in Messi and Ronaldinho.

"That meant they could keep the ball right out at the touchline and stretch you - a very tough shift if you don't have the ball."

At least this weekend at Love Street they won't face a Messi or a Ronaldinho. But what the St Mirren game represents is a mental challenge to bounce back.

Strachan is up for it. He's certain his players will be, too.