Celtic and Ireland defender Darren O'Dea has signed a new contract with the Glasgow club.

The 20-year-old made his senior debut for the club against St Mirren in the CIS Cup earlier this season and has since amassed a further 16 appearances for Gordon Strachan's side, including three league goals.

The new deal sees him tied to Celtic Park until 2010 with the Bhoys moving to tie O'Dea down quickly after his mature performances against AC Milan in the Champions League.

"I'm delighted but I'm in no way satisfied. I want to kick on from here," O'Dea revealed. "It's a reward for the hard work I've done but I want to push on now and play in many more games for the club.

"It's nice the club do value me but I want to kick on and push for the first team. I know I have a lot of quality ahead of me so it's up to me to work as hard as I can.

"Playing in the games such as AC Milan helps you as a player but I still have a hell of a lot of growing to do. I learn from all the players, they are all top quality and every day in training and in every game I'm learning."