McGeady had returned to first-team training before the draw with United

Gordon Strachan said he left Aiden McGeady out of his squad to face Dundee United because of the Scottish Premier League leaders' recent form.

McGeady had completed a club-imposed two-match ban before the 2-2 draw.

"We stayed faithful to the squad who had played so well in the last two games," said Strachan after the game.

Strachan also put McGeady's absence down to the rule that requires SPL sides to include two under-21 players in their match-day squad.

"We've complained about it consistently since I've come here and other managers have complained consistently about it, but there's no change," added the Celtic manager.

Strachan had earlier cut short a pre-match interview with BBC Radio Scotland when asked why McGeady had been left out of the squad.

The Republic of Ireland winger has been linked with a move away from Celtic since a fall-out with Strachan that occurred after a recent draw with Hearts and prompted the club to suspend the player.

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