Strachan plays down ref row

CELTIC MANAGER Gordon Strachan is adamant referee Stuart Dougal’s decision to send him to the stand during their surprise defeat to Hearts will not take the shine off the Hoops’ title celebrations.

The Parkhead side clinched the title last week at Rugby Park but a victory for the Jambos preceded the presentation of the trophy in front of around 60,000 Celtic supporters.

As Hearts substitute Neil McCann waited to come on for Saulius Mikoliunas moments after Michal Pospisil had scored the third from the spot, Strachan appeared to whisper something into the former Rangers player’s ear, prompting Dougal to send him to the stand.

The Celtic boss emerged drenched from the dressing room celebrations to try to take the emphasis away from his sending off.

He said: “It could have been sarcasm but there were no swear words directed to the referee whatsoever and the fourth official can back that up.

“This day has been a long time coming and no one person is bigger than this club and will take the headlines away from this club and players who have done fantastically well.

“We replaced some super players and super personalities and still managed to win the league.”

Strachan could be subject to a two-match ban, which will see him miss next week’s Old Firm game at Ibrox and the home match with Aberdeen, but he refused to discuss the possibility of an appeal.

He said: “I’m not worried about it. It depends on who is the referee, sometimes it might be better out of the dug out. But we will talk about that later.”

CELTIC: Boruc, Perrier Doumbe, Pressley, McManus, Naylor, Nakamura, Lennon (Gravesen 80), Hartley, McGeady (Riordan 81), Jarosik (Miller 73), Vennegoor of Hesselink.

HEARTS: Gordon, Karipidis, Berra, Zaliukas, Goncalves (Wallace 46), Mikoliunas (McCann 72), Brellier (Kancelsku 24), Kingston, Ivaskevicius, Pospisil, Driver.

Referee: S Dougal (Scotland).