BOBO BALDE'S refusal to move to Birmingham during the summer transfer window has cost him his place in Celtic's Champions League squad.

The 33-strong Hoops group registered with Uefa for the competition which kicks off next week includes nine defenders, among them Jo Doumbe and Paul Caddis.

But Balde is out, which means even if Celtic suffer a spate of injuries to centre-backs Gary Caldwell, Stephen McManus, Glenn Loovens and Darren O'Dea, they would not be able to bring him in.

The next registration date is January, for clubs who have either qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League or dropped to the Uefa Cup.

Gordon Strachan, meanwhile, takes his squad to Fir Park for the lunchtime kick-off tomorrow.

It's their first game since the heavy Old Firm defeat and a victory is essential.

But, before naming his side, manager Strachan will assess the condition of the men who have now all returned from international duty.

There were no reported injuries immediately after the midweek games, but Strachan will also want to check on fatigue.

Striker Scott McDonald missed Australia's games as he continued to receive treatment at Lennoxtown for the groin injury which ruled him out of the match against Rangers.

But although the man who scored 31 goals last season is desperate to line up against his old club - and with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink banned after picking up a red card in the Old Firm game - Strachan may not want to risk aggravating the injury and could restrict Skippy to a place on the bench.

Shaun Maloney and Georgios Samaras are both on standby to start.