Playing against some of the best players in the world can only help you improve as a player and Darren O'Dea wants to do just that.

Darren O'Dea was given his first start in the Champions League last night as Celtic drew 0-0 with AC Milan at Parkhead. O'Dea believes he has done enough to remain in the team for the return leg at the San Siro in a fortnight. O'Dea replaced cup-tied Steven Pressley and played his part in the goalless draw, helping to deny the Rossoneri a crucial away goal. He is well aware Pressley will be keen to reclaim the centre-half place for Sunday's game at Inverness, while Gary Caldwell is edging closer to a return from injury. But the former youth player insists he deserves his run in the team and is determined to remain in Gordon Strachan's plans. Last night may have been his debut start but O'Dea made his first appearance in the Champions League as a substitute in the 3-1 defeat by FC Copenhagen and says rubbing shoulders with some of the best players in the world last night has whetted his appetite for more.

He went on: "It was super. These are the players you want to be playing against. They are the top players in the world and it's an honour to be playing against them. It's exciting and it can also be worrying - but we kept them quiet tonight and we're delighted about that. It was just great to make my full debut and I thought I did okay. Some players might never get to play in games like this throughout their entire career. I'm very lucky but I work very hard and I feel I deserve it. I want to stay in this team and that means working even harder than I did before."

Before the game Celtic were hoping to travel to Italy with a home win in the bag but O'Dea believes there is plenty more to come from the Scottish champions in the second leg. He said: "There were not too many chances so 0-0 was probably a fair result. I don't think either team was at their best. It was important to keep a clean sheet, as away goals count double in Europe. It was a bit disappointing we didn't pass the ball better and get a goal here but we'll be going over there knowing we can improve as a team and maybe get a result over there." Goalkeeper Artur Boruc, who celebrated his 27th birthday yesterday, admits Celtic will need to put on an improved performance at the San Siro to have any hope of qualifying for the last eight. He said: "I am pleased with the performance, although a little bit upset that we couldn't score any goals. I hope the next game will be much better. The most important thing is that we didn't lose a goal at home but we will have to play better than tonight."

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