Falkirk visit Parkhead tomorrow night after the Clydesdale Bank Premier League leaders followed a 1-1 draw against Hearts with an identical result against St Mirren.

The game is Celtic's sixth in 18 days - defeat in Milan came in between - and Strachan has seen the likes of Lee Naylor and Artur Boruc added to his lengthy injury list in recent weeks, while other players have been playing with injuries.

And, while admitting they lacked the required quality to beat St Mirren, he refused to be critical of his players.

"We tried to win on Saturday, we had enough chances," he said.

"I explained the reasons why we didn't win - a good defensive display by St Mirren and our quality in the last third not being good enough. That can happen.

"The character and work rate, I have not got a problem with that.

"I can only ask them to do certain things. If they try hard enough, if they prepare well enough, if they respect the opposition, that's all you ask for as a manager.

"If their ability is down on the day, then that's up to the manager himself.

"You are talking about a team who beat Shakhtar after losing their left-back and centre-half, who at Tynecastle didn't have a problem until they lost a goal in injury time.

"I have absolutely no question about their commitment."

The Celtic manager reiterated his desire for a January winter break to allow players to recover from knocks and produce a better standard of football in the closing stages of the season.

He feels his players may be suffering under the strain of their European adventure, the draw with St Mirren coming three days after they flew back from Milan.

And he agreed that he may reshuffle his side to give some players a breather.

"We might do," the former Scotland international said.

"I think I heard Arsene Wenger talking about his games that have come up quickly and they are a bit jaded.

"I didn't think there was anything wrong with our energy, it might be the toll of travelling mentally might have been a problem.

"But I don't think so, I put it down to the fact we didn't score the first goal."

Strachan's options are limited amid the injury problems at Parkhead.

But Massimo Donati returned to training after missing the draw with the Buddies while Evander Sno set up fellow substitute Derek Riordan's equaliser.

Riordan's agent is trying to set up a January transfer for the former Hibernian player who has continually struggled to win a starting place since Strachan signed him 18 months ago.

And Strachan could give no guarantees that the 24-year-old, who has stated he prefers to play an attacking role, has won a place with his crucial goal.

"He might have, but there's other people playing well at this moment in time, so we have to look at that," Strachan said.

"Derek's preferred choice is being a wider man, and we have had good performances until recently from Jiri (Jarosik) and Aiden (McGeady) has been your man of the month.

"Brown has been playing sometimes on the right and been doing a good job, so we have to take everything into consideration.

"But I was happy with the two substitutes on Saturday, I thought they added a bit of quality, so the two of them can be pleased."

Strachan admitted his side could not handle St Mirren's containment tactics and admits Falkirk will pose a similar challenge despite John Hughes' commitment to pure football.

Strachan said: "I saw John quoted on Teletext two months ago saying he had to think about his style of play and maybe rethink it.

"I think he has had second thoughts about that. He has stuck to his principles."

But he added: "Their style has changed a wee bit. According to reports, it's back to two wide men and one through the middle, which seems to be a prevalent system in this league now, and it's not easy to break down."