GLASGOW (AFP) - Gordon Strachan admitted it will be almost impossible for Celtic to win the Scottish Premier League after they lost 1-0 at home to Motherwell.

The defeat on Saturday - against a side who played most of the second half with only 10 men - followed the Parkhead side's 1-0 loss away to league leaders Rangers the previous weekend.

Ahead of Rangers' game away to Dundee United on Sunday, Celtic now trail their Glasgow rivals by six points - having played two games more.

And with only seven matches left to play Strachan confessed his team's hopes of making it three SPL titles in a row are as good as dead.

However, the Celtic manager vowed his team would not throw in the towel.

Strachan said: "It's going to be near impossible for us to win the Championship now, but we'll keep plugging away, work hard and go again next week.

"After the Rangers game it was my opinion that we could not afford to drop any more points if we were to win the league this season.

"My opinion has been wrong in a couple of things so if my opinion is wrong again I'll be quite delighted."

Strachan has come under increasing pressure from the club's own supporters in recent weeks as Celtic's title bid faltered.

In Saturday's match, with his team struggling to get back on level terms after Simon Lappin's 33rd minute opener, the manager decided to replace top goalscorer Scott McDonald with Greek international Georgios Samaras in the 61st minute.

However, the Celtic fans had expected the ineffectual Dutch international Vennegoor of Hesselink to make way and booed the decision to replace the Australian striker.

McDonald also made his displeasure known by shaking his head as he passed Strachan before throwing his substitute jersey in the dugout.

The Celtic manager, though, was not interested in the reaction of the supporters or McDonald and defended his own actions.

Strachan said: "There's nothing I can do about the reaction of the crowd. My thinking behind the decision was to try and win the match.

"There's more important things than Scott's reaction. He's apologised to me and that says it all. He knows he was in the wrong and apologised to me and his teammates.

"But his reaction is a very small thing when you're talking about losing at home to Motherwell when you're trying to win the championship."

Motherwell had taken the lead against the run of play in the 33rd minute.

Former Rangers player Ross McCormack split the Celtic defence with a perfectly weighted pass to put Marc Fitzpatrick through.

The Motherwell player turned inside and fired towards goal and although Celtic's Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc made an outstanding save at full-stretch he could only push the ball back out into the path of Lappin, who fired home from close range.

In the 50th minute Motherwell were reduced to 10 men when former Rangers midfielder Bob Malcolm was shown a straight red card by referee Calum Murray after a rash challenge on Celtic's Italian Massimo Donati.

Republic of Ireland international Aiden McGeady almost levelled with a low drive from 25-yards in the 67th minute which left goalkeeper Smith rooted to the spot only to bounce off the bottom of the post.

Although Celtic threw everything at Motherwell in the closing stages - with goalkeeper Boruc spending the last few minutes trying to get on the end of crosses into the visitors' penalty box - the Fir Park side held on for a stunning victory.