Strachan will be banished to Ibrox stand after red mist

Strachan was dismissed for making a sarcastic comment following the award of a controversial penalty by referee Stuart Dougal as Hearts claimed a 3-1 win.

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The Celtic manager will decide this morning whether to appeal an automatic two-game touchline ban ahead of Saturday's clash with Rangers, but hinted he may accept his fate despite a sense of injustice.

"It could have been sarcasm, I think," said Strachan explaining the flashpoint which followed the 71st-minute spot-kick award after Steven Pressley was ruled to have fouled Laryea Kingston.

"But first of all there was no vocabulary or swear words at the referee. I can back that up with the fourth official. There was nothing directed at the referee at all."

Strachan was adamant that his sending-off should not detract from Celtic's day of celebration and he added: "One thing is sure, this day has been a long time coming and there is no one person bigger than this club.

"Nobody can take the headlines away from this club and the players have done fantastically well.

"They are super, super players and still managed to win the league. The ironic thing is that today's performance was the best we've managed to play in a long time."

Hearts coach Stephen Frail described the decision to dismiss Strachan as 'harsh' but Michal Pospisil made no mistake from the spot to add to goals from Kestutis Ivaskevicius and Andrew Driver.

Despite the defeat, Celtic fans enjoyed a raucous celebration following the presentation of the Bank of Scotland Scottish Premier League trophy, with departing skipper Neil Lennon stealing the show as he embarked upon an emotional lap of honour with toddler son Gallacher.

As he emerged dripping wet after enduring a traditional soaking in the bath, Strachan added: "I'm not worried about appealing (against his dismissal) now. Whether it's bad being out for two weeks, I don't know. It depends who the referee is, it might be better if I'm out of the dugout. But we'll talk about that later.

"It hasn't changed our celebrations one little bit. There are all sorts of people going into that cold bath in the dressing room right now.

"I thought it was a smashing game, but the result is not right because of the number of chances we made."

The Celtic manager earned the backing of Frail in the Hearts dugout.

"I think he just went and said to Neil McCann that he knew he would get a run-out at some stage," said the Jambos No2. "I think the officials took that the wrong way. He was very unfortunate to be sent off, in my opinion."

The Tynecastle side are now within four points of third-placed Aberdeen in the quest for European football next season and a philosophical Frail admitted: "I would rather be out there celebrating a title win than having won the game but it helps us get nearer to a UEFA Cup slot."

Hearts play Aberdeen at home next Sunday and can close to within one point if they beat them. "To win here 3-1 should be a reminder to these players that they can come here and do that," added Frail. "We want to be first in the league.

"The expectations rose after last season and it's important to get them back and challenge for the league next season."