CELTIC striker Scott McDonald risked being accused of wife neglect - on his honeymoon. That's how much being ready for Dinamo Moscow tonight means to him.

The summer wedding should have been the signal for a well-earned break after a season which ran all the way through to mid-June, thanks to World Cup commitments with Australia.

However, Oz was so conscious he would have to be in the best possible shape for the opening game of the campaign, the Champions League qualifier, that he admits he slipped away every evening to put in secret sessions in the hotel gym.

Understandably, his new bride was not impressed by this dereliction of husbandly duty. But McDonald's new manager, Tony Mowbray, was pleased by the striker's dedication to the Hoops' cause.

Tonight, the little hitman hopes to reap his reward by helping Celtic beat Dinamo and head to Moscow for next week's second leg with a lead which will give them a chance of going through to the final knock-out round.

As he prepared to haul his toned torso into the heat of battle tonight, McDonald confirmed: "I'm feeling great physically, and that's the most important thing at this point in the preparation for the season.

"In the first year I was at the club, I never really scored many in pre-season. But I got a couple in the match at Wembley against Al Ahly last Friday.

"It's always nice to get off the mark. But what is more important is that I am feeling a lot sharper this year compared to before.

"I worked really hard during the summer break to make sure that's the case."

McDonald was an easy target for the stand snipers last season. When, as diplomatically as possible, he was reminded that he took flak for being slightly out of condition in the opening few weeks, the response was as immediate as it was honest.

"Just say it, that I was fat. I was heavy," he said with a reduced belly laugh. "It was important for me that didn't happen again.

"I did have a short break anyway, but I made sure I kept in shape. I was annoying my wife when we were away because I was going to the gym for a couple of hours every evening.

"She was saying, This is supposed to be our honeymoon - what are you doing in that gym?' But I told her that I'm afraid that's just a sacrifice you have to make when you marry a footballer."

Pounds are also uppermost in the minds of the men who run Celtic, though they are looking to acquire a few million for their funds rather than shed some from their waist.

McDonald needs no reminding how vital qualification for the group stage is to the club in these difficult trading times.

However, player pride rather than club cash will be the incentive tonight. He explained: "We know how important it is for the club.

"Don't get me wrong, there are nice bonuses for everyone. But the biggest bonus for a player is not the money, it's all about playing against the best players in the world, especially leading to a World Cup year.

"For someone like me, whose country has already qualified for South Africa, that's where I want to be playing next summer."

That's the pot of gold at the end of this particular rainbow. Back at the beginning, where McDonald currently stands, there are much more down-to-earth matters to be contemplated.

The first of those is setting a benchmark for the campaign in the opening Champions League qualifiers, and McDonald said: "That's exactly right.

"A good result in this game maybe gives the manager a little bit more money to spend, money he probably won't have right now.

"So that would be an extra bonus to help strengthen the squad, although I believe the one we've got at the moment is strong enough to go and challenge again domestically this year."

Marco Fortune has already been added to the ranks this summer, while Chris Killen has returned to increase the competition Oz and Georgios Samaras face for places in the attack.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink has left, but McDonald acknowledges the battle is on after all four strikers made their mark in pre-season.

He said: "The first year I was here, the challenge facing me was just as much, especially as I wasn't expected to play.

"But, you may be right, I suppose this could be the most pressure I've been under because everyone is expecting me to play now.

"I've got to make sure I am playing every week, and the only way I can do that is by scoring goals."

The 50 he has bagged since arriving in 2007 will help his cause. But McDonald is aware that it is no longer the man who signed him who is picking the team.

"Everyone starts on the same level when a new manager comes in," he accepts. "So we all have to try to impress him.

"But I've enjoyed working with him so far, and that's been a good thing."