Asked to reflect on John Hartson's comments that a striker needs to perform over a course of many seasons to be considered a real success at Celtic, he said. "I think he is 100% correct. You can be a one-hit wonder in anything. If you bring record after record out and keep producing then you are known as a true artist. It is no different in football. This year could be the real making of me as a football player, to show people that it's not just been a one-off, I truly am a good goalscorer.
Life in the Glasgow goldfish bowl can require a period of readjustment, but McDonald has the kind of outgoing nature that relishes the added attention on and off the field.
"I quite like the focus in Glasgow," he said. "I don't shy away from it. I remember being a 12-year-old and wanting the autographs of all the players coming out of Celtic Park. It's a fantastic position to now be coming out of that door and everyone wants a piece of you. How could you not like that? Most of the time it's friendly banter around Glasgow. I've never had to deal with any serious stuff. It's a unique environment here. When I go away with Australia, I speak to players who are with Premiership clubs and it's not the same for them.
"Things are not so highlighted, they don't get the same attention we do up here. We have to live with it every day, but it's a great thing at the same time. I only needed to go to Dubai this summer to see how many Celtic supporters were turning up at the Australia training sessions. It was incredible. Celtic are known all over the world. It's a fantastic feeling when people in Dubai know who you are and want to talk with you. That only happens playing with an Old Firm club."
