GORDON STRACHAN may have encountered difficulty negotiating his favoured Yorkshire tea bags through US customs but there was evidence this week that the Celtic manager is keen to sample a different blend on the field this season.

After the fitness work and experimentation of Switzerland, visitors left Peterborough's stadium on Friday night believing they had witnessed most of the club's first choice combinations for the forthcoming season in action. Stephen McManus and Steven Pressley may well be the starting centre halves when August 4 comes round, Lee Naylor and Mark Wilson are the men in possession of the full back roles, while Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Scott McDonald are the people's choice to start up front, at least once McDonald has served out a two-game suspension.

But it was central midfield - where Scott Brown and Massimo Donati were given their first outing together for more than an hour of the match - that was the centre of attention. Strachan confirmed last night that the box-to-box abilities of his likely post-Neil Lennon midfield pairing should give the Parkhead club something which has been missing ever since the departure of Stilian Petrov.

"They are still finding their feet, and obviously there is the language problem, but I thought it was all right," Strachan said last night. "At the moment it is about everybody being able to understand each other, but they will be fine. Scott's enthusiasm rubs off on other people, he has a change of pace with the ball and he has been looking good in training, but I have been pleased with all the signings. Having the ability to drive on from midfield is an asset and Massimo is another who can drive from midfield as well."

Although Evander Sno - whose pre-season has been disrupted by injury - Paul Hartley, or even Jiri Jarosik, may yet have something to say about the matter, it all makes quite a change of approach from last season, which saw Strachan divide the club's fans with the use of two out-and-out holding central midfielders even in the home leg of the last 16 meeting against AC Milan.

With Shunsuke Nakamura on Asian Cup duty with Japan, and Aiden McGeady rested, the only areas of the team on Friday night which had a truly experimental look were in goal, where Mark Brown was steady if relatively untested, and on the flanks, where Jim O'Brien staked a claim for at least a chunk of first-team action with the winning goal and some good work on the right, while former Cagliari player Andrea Capone made his case for a contract on the left.

The Italian is likely to get another run-out today against Queen's Park Rangers at Loftus Road, a match which could also see McGeady, Artur Boruc, Kenny Miller, Bobo Balde or even Thomas Gravesen make an appearance.

Sno, Darren O'Dea, Maciej Zurawski, Derek Riordan and Gary Caldwell are all currently receiving treatment, while even in the event of Japan exiting the Asian Cup early, Nakamura will still be exempted attendance in the USA.

"I've put Naka to the back of my mind until he turns up," Strachan said. "He won't be coming to America, that's for sure. He will need a break. But with his own fitness and his natural intelligence that shouldn't be a problem."

Considering the resources at his fingertips, it is little wonder the Celtic manager had to take recourse to such a random factor as tea bags for a cause for complaint as he prepared to fly out to the USA after today's game. Yet he would only have to look back 12 months for an example of how pre-season performances and results should not always be regarded as the most trustworthy form guide.

"Sometimes you can have horrendous pre-seasons," Strachan said, "That happened last season, then we started with a 4-1 victory over Kilmarnock, when we played really well. So you try to stay on a level keel."

As well as some poor results on the field, Celtic's unhappy time in the States last season was partly down to poor training facilities in Boston, and as a result of chief scout Tom O'Neill's reconnaissance work the club have found something better in Denver this year.

For McDonald, Peterborough will always something now - the town will go down as the venue for his first ever Celtic goal, even if only a combination of dubious offsides and good goalkeeping prevented him getting a hat-trick.

The little Aussie, who was singled out for praise by Strachan afterwards, admits he is so energised by his new surroundings that there will be no need for the occasional kick up the backside, which his former boss Terry Butcher used to prevent him being hypercritical on the occasions when he doesn't live up to his own expectations.

"I didn't like his kicks too much but the old gaffer was fantastic towards me. He was a fantastic motivator but you don't need any more motivation than what you see around you here," McDonald said.

By the time McDonald becomes available for a competitive game, Celtic's opening Champions League qualifier, the club will have played two games and one of the strikers may have established themselves. And in October, around Old Firm time, there is the possibility of him having to be forced to deal with competing expectations of club and country when Asian World Cup qualifying begins.

"It is a possibility I will be out the team but I believe in my ability and hopefully the gaffer will see that, and hopefully give me an opportunity," McDonald said. "I will have to play it by ear and wish the team all the best when I am not playing I think we are going to need everyone, I don't think you are going to get 11 guys who are going to play every single game."