The bad news for Celtic is that the qualifiers from Group E of the Champions League have been decided. The good news is that the qualifiers have been decided

The bad news for Celtic is that the qualifiers from Group E of the Champions League have been decided. The good news is that the qualifiers have been decided.

The latter sentiment owes much to a sense of perspective after the 1-0 defeat to Villarreal in El Madrigal on Tuesday night. This perspective, of course, can only be gained by climbing the mountain of gloom, assessing what has been achieved and then looking to the way ahead.

The depression after defeat to Marcos Senna's deft free-kick was wearily familiar. Yet it owes much to a refusal to face reality rather than to any other cause. There are two aspects to this. Villarreal are an excellent side yet were perceived by many as a "good draw" for Celtic. This, frankly, shocked this observer. Fans, who are assiduous devourers of form, were dismissing Villarreal despite the solid evidence that Manuel Pellegrini's side are 10 lengths better than Barcelona on last year's form. And they may be improving.

Pellegrini has said his side have pretensions to winning La Liga. To that end, he rested Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla at Old Trafford before taking on, and beating, Numancia. He targeted the Celtic game as a "must win". Senna and Cazorla returned to be outstanding in a fine team performance.

The other aspect of the depression among Celtic sympathisers on Tuesday was the extension of the woeful away record in the group qualifiers. Observers, dismissing the promise of Celtic's performance, remarked that it was about the "bottom line" and that Celtic had been defeated.

But the bottom line in group qualification is to qualify for the knockout phase. And Celtic have done that in two consecutive seasons. Their Champions League campaigns have always been thrilling and held a measure of achievement. For real, unalloyed failure in the competition, one must look to such as Spartak Moscow's campaign of 2002/2003 when the Russians lost 18 goals, scoring one and achieving nil points.

So what has been achieved for Celtic over the run of Champions League campaigns? This is difficult to assess in precise terms. But Celtic are certainly a more enterprising, quicker side than when Gordon Strachan limped from Bratislava three years ago. The performance in El Madrigal was decent throughout and highly promising on occasion. Celtic played with a technical assurance at times that should be the bedrock of any side at this level of competition.

Strachan was unlucky in one aspect. Shunsuke Nakamura, Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady were not at their best. Nakamura was simply sloppy on occasions and Maloney may need to be "rotated" after a flying start to the season. McGeady threatened in the second half when targeting Sebastien Eguren but his two decent crosses could not be met by a Celtic head.

Celtic's outstanding performers were Gary Caldwell and Scott Brown.

I have not stinted in criticism of both in the past. But the centre-back was quick in the tackle and astute in his positioning. Brown took on the job of closing down Senna with energy and discipline. The Spanish international had a smashing match but so did Brown. It was his best performance in a Celtic jersey.

Celtic, then, were better but not good enough. The key to success in top-class football is possession. Villarreal had 58% of it in the first and 64% of it in the second. This significant increase over the course of the match was backed by the evidence of one's eyes.

Celtic were pushed back by a superior team in the second period. The statistics again bear this out. Villarreal had one shot on target in the first and 10 in the second. This momentum was rewarded by Senna's goal. It was the proper result but Celtic did have chances when Georgios Samaras was through on goal, when Scott McDonald volleyed over the bar and when a Stephen McManus back-flick found the arms of a grateful Diego Lopez.

So what is the path ahead? For all the groaning about Celtic's away record, their most disappointing Champions League result of late has been the 0-0 home draw against Aalborg. The simple task for Celtic in the short-term is to qualify for the UEFA Cup, as they are seeded to do.

A UEFA Cup campaign would certainly offer an attractive option for Celtic. It would continue their stay in Europe and pit them against opponents much less formidable than any they would find in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

They must, of course, finish above the Danes to win the UEFA spot. The evidence from Tuesday is that the odds have tilted in the favour of the Scottish champions. It is difficult to see Aalborg winning a point in two games against Villarreal. A visit to Old Trafford, especially after a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at home, should end in defeat. Celtic, locked on one point with Aalborg at the foot of the table, will have hopes of prising something from two home games against the Spaniards and United.

The crucial match is the one in Denmark on Tuesday, November 25. This would be an opportune moment for Celtic to break their habit of being beaten on foreign fields. The very good news from Tuesday is that they are capable of doing just that.