The happy Hoops boss enthused over the entertainment his bhoys provided and those fans who did 'walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain' were indeed well rewarded for their efforts. There was no golden sky at the end of the storm but performances like this one might mean a sweet silver song in the Parkhead arena come May.
Their European credentials have been questioned extensively since the Champions League defeat at Old Trafford on Tuesday but there is no doubting that the Celts still have what it takes to remain the top dogs in Scotland.
Manager Strachan had made four changes from midweek with Aiden McGeady and defensive trio Loovens, Mark Wilson and Lee Naylor dropping out. Andreas Hinkel and Barry Robson replaced the full-backs and Strachan "Our wide players had a lot of work to do down at United. So I thought the team would benefit from changes to those areas and it was the right decision because Hibs also make your full-backs work hard and I thought we handled it well."
The stage may have seemed less than conducive to a great game of football but the players from both sides got gleefully stuck in despite the lashing rain and wind and produced a stormer. Celtic have now hit 20 goals in six games in an unbeaten run which has seen them regain top spot in the table and their boss said "The people who follow our games are getting value for money because we try to play good football and entertain."
"To score four goals was brilliant after the tough game we had in midweek." he continued "We tackled, chased, passed the ball and scored goals. That's six straight wins in the league and I've been pleased with what I've been seeing from my players. It was an entertaining match and our stamina and drive were phenomenal and to produce energy like that after being at Old Trafford was magnificent."
Stephen McManus had opened the scoring from a Nakamura corner before youngster Cillian Sheridan scored his first senior goal to make it 2-0 to Celtic. Strachan was pleased for the young striker and said "I like young Cillian because he is the only fit player I have on my books with a bit of height. He gave us what we needed today. He's been here for about 18 months and he's still a bit raw. We've had to build him up a bit. But he took his goal well and I was pleased for him. He gave us power up front and credit to him, he should be an example for other young players at this club. We don't have the money any more and the kids will get a chance if they're good enough."
Goals from Colin Nish and Steven Fletcher made it 2-2 before goals from Glenn Loovens, who had replaced injured skipper McManus at half-time, and Scott Brown restored Celtic's two goal winning margin. "I also thought Scott Brown was fantastic. I was pleased for him to score and play so well in midfield." said Strachan "It was a terrific game, with plenty of goals, tackles and controversial decisions. It was all there. A lot of players can talk about the game and what they can do, but that's no good here. At this club you actually have to do it. Talking is no good here."
The Celtic boss insisted that he learned nothing about his squad that he didn't already know "There's nothing to be learned from that. It was obviously a physical test and a mental test, but for three years now we have been driving on, winning championships, winning cups and producing football that's decent to watch. " he said.