Strachan set to stick with Celtic

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell does not believe manager Gordon Strachan could be tempted to return to England after securing a second successive Bank of Scotland Premier League title.

The former Southampton boss has been linked with Manchester City and Newcastle in a season where he led Celtic into the last 16 of the Champions League.

The absence of a long-term contract being offered to the former Manchester United player at Celtic has added fuel to the fire.

But Lawwell said: 'We have got him on a 12-month rolling contract and we have full protection, as does Gordon. It's better than a fixed term.

'We have had no indication that Gordon wants to leave. He says he's perfectly happy and we're happy with him.

'I have never had to ask Gordon about his future - I have never been in any doubt.'

Lawwell praised Strachan for winning silverware while cutting the wage bill.

The chief executive revealed Celtic now have three categories of salaries - the top for star signings, a middle one for 'scouted' players such as goalkeeper Artur Boruc and a lower one for home-grown players.

He said: 'We had the sixth highest wage bill in the UK when Gordon started and were 25-30% ahead of Rangers.

'We had to bring our expenditure back and Gordon has been fantastic in his understanding.

'We had to get away from the really big salaries. The way we've structured it is that we will always have four or five really big players.'

Meanwhile, Lawwell has revealed the club hope to extend the capacity of Celtic Park beyond 60,000 - but not in the near future.

He said: 'The only place we might expand is in the south stand and it's a big bill.

'We'll do it at some point but there's maybe more demand for the money to be spent elsewhere at the moment.

'You could put another seven or eight thousand on the capacity. One day we'd like to fill the biggest stadium possible.'