AS Celtic's Eurovision comes into sharper view with today's draw for the Champions League play-off round, the votes from the Swedish judges on their performance against Elfsborg have arrived.

While it is not exactly nul points, assistant manager Johan Mjallby and full-back Mikael Lustig are singing from the same hymn sheet. Celtic must aim to strike a higher note than they hit in the two third qualifying round matches against the Swedish champions, when only Kris Commons' goal in the first leg separated the sides.

The relief on the face of manager Neil Lennon was mirrored on the features of chief executive Peter Lawwell as the referee brought the action to an end in the Boras Arena on Wednesday. The tension is now replaced by a level of apprehension as they await today's draw for the play off round. They already know they will face one of Austria Vienna, Maribor, Shakther Karagandy, Ludogorets Razgrad or Legia Warsaw, and also that whichever opponent comes their way will present a stronger challenge than limited Elfsborg.

Lennon and Lawwell are pulling out all of the stops to strengthen the squad ahead of the final two obstacles which stand between them and the group stages of Europe's premier club competition. With Kelvin Wilson about to join Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper in following the road to England, the urgency to inject more quality and stiffen the spine of the side has increased. Reports in Italy yesterday linked Celtic with Marco Capuano, the 21-year-old Pescara centre-back who caught the eye in 26 Serie A appearances last season but it is understood that Bologna are also interested in signing the defender.

Of those already recruited this summer, Virgil van Dijk and Derk Boerrigter, should be fit to play in the play offs, the first leg of which takes place in 11 days. However, they are untried at this level - in the winger's case with Celtic, at least - and it will be down to the men who have already been over the course with Lennon to step up their game and ensure a place among the elite does not slip through their fingers.

Lustig has been one of the most consistent performers for the club on the Champions League stage and is honest in his assessment of their current situation. He believes they will have to be much more sure of foot and more clinical in front of goal if they are to take the next step and emulate their achievement of last season. "We are through to the next round, and that was the most important thing," said the Swede. "We wanted to play a little better, but it was all about getting the right result. We had two very big chances in the first half. Had we taken just one of them, it would have turned out a very different game. In the second-half, Elfsborg tried to come at us again, but defensively we did well. It's so important for the players and the club and the staff to keep going to the next round."

Lustig accepts that there is lot of room for improvement. "We knew the potential consequences of making a mistake or a slip," he added. "However, I don't think it is wrong to say we will have to be a bit braver on the ball in the next round. None of us really wanted the ball. No one wanted to make a mistake.

"Absolutely, we will have to be better in the play-off round. We have been brilliant in defence and have not lost a goal in four qualification games this season. But we will need to get better in the offensive play in order to score some goals. The whole back four played well, but, to go through, we will have to improve in possession. We did not do well in Boras, especially not when we had the ball, but Elfsborg did not create the big chances that were needed. They played at a level we expected with some good football."

Lustig and everyone else at Celtic now expects the pressure to be cranked up along with the level of opposition. Failure to negotiate the play-off round would mean they would parachute into the group stages of the Europa League, something that would be scant consolation for a club who emerged from their tough Champions League group alongside Barcelona.

Assistant manager Mjallby concedes that the manner in which they performed in Boras would not be good enough to earn them a place in the Champions League groups. The Swede pulled no punches when he assessed how the team had performed against Elfsborg. Mjallby said: "We were miserable. Utterly abysmal. We are in the play-offs, but that was not a good match for us."

He did excuse Wilson and, surprisingly, Efe Ambrose from his criticism, however, and insisted: "Our central defenders were superb. That was the only thing that kept us in it. We did not pass the ball well or keep possession and we could not get our attacking players into the game. Efe Ambrose and Kelvin Wilson were the only two that played to a high level. They are the reason we made it through."

That, and the fact Elfsborg could not create an opportunity to make Celtic pay. So it was relief rather than satisfaction for a job well done that brought Mjallby to the conclusion that: "Elfsborg defended well in Glasgow when we had great pressure on them and we knew they would be stronger at home, but they did not create too many chances. We knew it was going to be a tough ask, but we defended well."