Gordon Strachan had the air of a venture capitalist yesterday when he outlined his vision for his new Celtic. The manager wants his players to invest everything in his plan - even if it is for a smaller piece of the action - and promises that they will all share in the success.

Strachan believes he has now assembled his best squad of players and has abandoned the preferred option of a first-choice XI in order to implement a rotation policy that will help Celtic to cope with the twin ambitions of European and domestic competition. Today, it is Aberdeen at home in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, then on Tuesday it will be away to Villarreal, of Spain, in the Champions League.

Unlike previous campaigns, Strachan will attempt to cope with the demands by switching his playing staff around. Glenn Loovens is one of the few players who is guaranteed a place today, and that is only because Gary Caldwell is suspended after his red card last Sunday at Kilmarnock. The Dutch centre-back has barely played since his £2.5million move from Cardiff City in August because of the intense competition for places at the Scottish champions.

Perhaps the only other member of Strachan's side who could feel certain of playing against Aberdeen in Artur Boruc, the goalkeeper, but even that anomaly is being addressed by Strachan, who signed Dominic Cervi yesterday. Strachan made seven changes to the side that won 3-1 at Kilmarnock last weekend for the Co-operative Insurance Cup tie with Livingston on Tuesday, and that “shadow” side proceeded to win 4-0.

“The team will be changed from the Livingston match,” Strachan said. “This is all part of a plan that was drawn up a month ago. We explained it to the players and they were happy. There are no grey areas. Our ultimate goal is to win every competition that we enter. You can only do that as a team, not as individuals. You cannot pick up medals on your own.”

Even Aiden McGeady, last season's player of the year, has been forced to warm the bench because of the form of Shaun Maloney since the latter returned to Celtic from Aston Villa in August. That unexpected demotion inspired McGeady to shine against Livingston but Strachan denies reports of bust-ups with his key player.

“No one has said to me that they want to play,” Strachan said. “I have never had a meeting with any player. Anyone who doubts me is wrong. The players have been fantastic about this and I cannot ask for any more from them. I was looking at things last month and trying to see how we could approach this hectic couple of months in the Premier League and Champions League and get the best out of the players, who will be tired if I use the same ones all the time. I now feel I have a squad that can do it. I can change any part of the team at any time and feel confident in it.”

Strachan has copied his old manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, in adopting a larger cast list for the hectic autumn schedule. “In the past, I have felt a problem sometimes in bigger games, where I have asked someone to come in because of injuries,” Strachan said. “There were guys who had not played for two months because the team was so settled and then had to perform in a Champions League game when others were hurt.

“I looked at Manchester United and what they do. You see Darren Fletcher coming in an out of the side and when I looked at their bench last week and saw Carlos Tévez, I thought, ‘Maybe there is something in this.' This squad I now have allows me to do that.”

The irony is that Stachan has shaped a policy that would have irritated him when he was a player. This is the man who made 114 consecutive appearances for Leeds United, which allowed him to win the English title at the age of 35. “In our day, a squad meant 14 players,” he said.

“Willie Miller and Alex McLeish played 72 games in the season that Aberdeen won the Cup Winners' Cup. We would never have dared to complain of tiredness. I wanted to play every minute of every game but it helped that I was in a winning side. Will the players thank me for looking after them? If they win things, they will.”

Loovens is eager to not only try to stake a claim for the Villarreal match, but play in front of 60,000 today at Celtic Park. “One of the reasons I came here was Champions League football,” he said. “However, since I have moved here, I have discovered how big Celtic really are.”