Strachan future in doubt after title heartbreak

Celtic boss Gordon Strachan faces a make-or-break few days as he ponders his future after failing to lead his side to a fourth successive Scottish Premier League title.

Strachan dodged questions in the immediate aftermath of Sunday?s disappointment and did nothing to quell rumours about his long-term future.

The former Scotland midfielder had been heavily linked with the Sunderland job when it was occupied by Ricky Sbragia.

But following Sbragia?s decision to quit after the Wearside club secured their Premiership survival, the speculation is set to go into overdrive now the job is vacant.

Strachan has never said he wants to leave but he may conclude that he has taken Celtic as far as he can.

He cut a disconsolate figure after the 0-0 draw with Hearts and the boos that echoed around Parkhead at the final whistle won?t have sat easily with him, in a week he has praised the support.

If he does stay, he will have to replace the departing Shunsuke Nakamura and address the goalscoring problems which were highlighted by consecutive 0-0 draws when it mattered most in the final two games of the season.

But will he have sufficient funds to do so?

Title failure means Celtic must win two qualifying matches to reach the group stages of the Champions League.

As Rangers found out after losing a qualifier to FB Kaunas last summer, missing out on the money-spinning potential of Europe’s elite competition can have a devastating effect on club finances.

Strachan had the chance to become the first Celtic manager since the legendary Jock Stein to win four Scottish titles in a row but his side failed at the final hurdle against Hearts.

Before Sunday, he had won three league titles in three years. An unblemished record perhaps but not enough to convince many amongst the Parkhead support.

There was still a mood of expectancy around the ground prior to kick-off. But that was soon wiped out when news filtered through of Kyle Lafferty?s early opener for Rangers against Dundee United.

That moment seemed to suck the life out of Celtic?s title bid and despair from the stands spread onto the pitch.

Strachan admitted as much in a post-match press conference, which lasted less than two minutes after he refused to take questions from the assembled media.

He admitted: “We weren’t up to the challenge of winning a fourth one. It’s disappointing but we will analyse it later on but we only have ourselves to blame. In certain areas we weren’t as good as we have been in the past three years.”