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

And the absence of a long-term contract 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 homegrown 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".

Strachan, meanwhile, is adamant referee Stuart Dougal's decision to send him to the stand during their surprise 3-1 Bank of Scotland Premier League defeat to Hearts yesterday 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 Saints 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.

"The ironic thing is, that's the best we've played in a long time in terms of making chances.

"It was their first shot at goal and it went in."

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".

Strachan's future has come under scrutiny in recent weeks but asked if he would still be at Parkhead to go for his third title in a row next season, he said: "Where else am I going to go?

"I just love this club - it's great fun".