Strachan gives hair claim the brush-off

CELTIC manager Gordon Strachan laughed off suggestions that his red hair will bring his team good fortune in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifier against Spartak Moscow in Russia.

Russian folklore states that red-haired people, relatively uncommon in the country, are supposed to be ‘lucky’.

The Scottish champions will face the Premier-Liga leaders on the Luzhniki Stadium’s artificial pitch tomorrow night, looking for an encouraging result to take back to Celtic Park for the return match on August 29.