Celtic have posted a financial loss of £3.6m for the previous financial year, a steep decline from the £11.8m profit the club celebrated this time a year ago.

The Parkhead side have attributed the shortfall to the fact they retained the services of Virgil Van Dijk last term - who has subsequently moved to Premiership side Southampton for £13m - in conjunction with the club's failure to secure UEFA Champions League football last season.

That failure has been replicated again this summer but the sale of Van Dijk is anticipated to offset any shortage again next term and chief executive Peter Lawwell was upbeat despite operating at a loss last season.

"We are stable, we are in a solid financial position, we have invested £10m in the playing squad over the last two transfer windows which is a massive amount in terms of the Scottish market and next season we expect to make a profit again.

"The sale of Virgil has guaranteed us £13m - and that is even if he never kicks a ball for Southampton. We would actually have preferred to keep him for at least another season but his wish was to go and we believe the deal we got was the best one available.

"Whatever money we bring in, we are always reinvesting in the playing squad.

"Obviously the lack of Champions League money will affect revenue streams but the sales for the Europa League at the minute are very encouraging. We have sold more than we did last year and we plan on making sure that the whole stadium will be open for all three of our home games.

Since 2010 Celtic have spent £40.5m on transfer fees and received £76m in from the sale of players: a £35.5m net profit on transfers.

It is a strategy that has been successful from a business perspective, although the criticism that comes from supporters of the club is that it leaves the manager having to rebuild a team every time a high profile club makes the move south of the border. Victor Wanyama, Gary Hooper, Fraser Forster and Van Dijk have all commanded significant fees but the challenge is always in sourcing their replacement at an affordable price.

In the current financial environment, however, Lawwell has maintained that there is no other viable alternative.

"What would another strategy be?," he asked. "There is no choice. And you have to place it in context. Last year we spent £9.42m on the playing staff and in the current climate that is something that I think we can look at as a strong investment in our squad.

"We want to keep developing young players and bringing in the best players we can but for us to sign a mature player who has no sell-on value, we would have to look at between £10m and £15m by the time you took account of salary demands and that isn't viable. The model we have is the only sustainable one there is."

Ibrox chairman Dave King claimed this week that Rangers would be pushing Celtic for the SPFL title next season, but Lawwell, inevitably, would not be drawn on the challenge that may be on the horizon from Govan. "I would have no comment at all to make on that," said Lawwell. "We have a huge game against Aberdeen this afternoon who have been our nearest rivals recently and we have a big game next week so that is where our focus is at the minute."

And the Celtic chief executive has also maintained that manager Ronny Deila retains the full support of the Celtic board.

"We have never made knee-jerk reactions," said Lawwell. "We believe that we can see the progress that is being made. We have a young, progressive manager and we believe that we can see the long-term picture for the club. "