Fringe men fail to shake Strachan

Gordon Strachan made changes for the defeat by Hibs

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan says none of his fringe players impressed enough against Hibernian to alter his plans for the Scottish Cup final.

Goalkeeper Mark Brown and midfielder Theodore Bjarnason were handed debuts in the 2-1 defeat at Easter Road.

"There was nothing that blew my mind," said the manager after the champions' defeat in their last league game.

"I was almost expecting it. None of them shook me up and said 'you need to play me'."

Interview: Celtic manager Gordon Strachan

A late goal ended a run of poor results for Hibs and handed Celtic a defeat ahead of next week's final against Dunfermline Athletic at Hampden Park.

"It has not come as a real disappointment, although it was a real disappointment in losing the game in the last minute," said Strachan.

"But I will be asking different players to switch on for the cup final, people who have proved that they can win things and handle big games."

Scott Brown scored for Hibs only days after it was confirmed he would be joining Celtic in the summer.

"He did all right," said Strachan. "He was fine.

"I was more interested in how my boys were playing."

A Sunday newspaper report linked Celtic with a bid for Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton.

But Strachan insisted: "It's just a lie."