Stephen McManus is determined to repeat his successful debut season as Celtic captain with another championship triumph.McManus lifted the Scottish Premier League title in May but the campaign was not without its difficult periods.

After cup defeats by Hearts and Aberdeen, Celtic looked to be heading for a barren season as Rangers led the SPL going into the final stages.

McManus also had to cope with the deaths of former Celtic midfielder and family friend Phil O'Donnell, plus popular coach Tommy Burns.

The 25-year-old spoke movingly about his former youth development boss and first-team coach on the day Burns died, as Celtic prepared for their title decider.

But he got the chance to dedicate the SPL crown to Burns when Celtic completed a seven-match winning run at Dundee United, and McManus is satisfied with the way he coped under the microscope.

And he is keen to lead Celtic to their fourth consecutive title after firmly getting to grips with his role.

"It was a challenging year but I just tried to deal with things as best as I possibly could," the Scotland international said.

"There are going to be additional responsibilities, there will be difficult times when you are asked to step up and speak on behalf of the club or players, but it's something that you maybe expect as captain of this club.

"You have to handle it and that's what I tried to do, I just tried to do as best as I possibly could and that's what I'll do in the future.

"Given what happened last year, that made it all the more important that we won the league and getting that title at the end of the campaign was the main thing for me.

"It was great, it was what we had to do and with that in mind, I've enjoyed every minute of being the captain of this club. I just hope we'll be able to do it again this year."

McManus came through the youth ranks at Celtic and admitted watching the likes of Neil Lennon and Paul Lambert deal with the captaincy stood him in good stead.

But even a decade of service could not prepare him for the increased attention.

"When you become captain of this club the demands are unbelievable," the central defender told the Celtic View.

"You do have an idea of what to expect, but it's not until you are given the responsibility, that you realise what people are talking about.

"Everything is magnified, both what you do on the field and off it, you just can't get away from it.

"I don't think I've ever had a time when so many people were approaching me in the street, telling me what they thought I should be doing, where we were going wrong and what we were doing right.

"But you need to deal with that and I've been fortunate enough to grow up with it at this club, so you get an idea of what it's about."

McManus could line up alongside Romania centre-half Gabriel Tamas next season if Celtic follow up their interest in the player, whose agent claims he is keen to move to Parkhead.

However, Auxerre are said to be looking for up to £5million for the 24-year-old and have had no contact from Celtic.

More Football News from TEAMtalk