GORDON STRACHAN has declared a moratorium on contract talks until Celtic's destiny in cup and league is decided.

The Celtic manager said yesterday: "Nothing will be discussed until the dust has settled on the season. Anybody who wants to talk about anything - any grey areas, any doubts, - can come and see me when the dust settles. I don't want any distractions."

Strachan was speaking in the wake of further reports about the future of several of his players. Stephen McManus is the latest young player to be linked with a long-term deal after Peter Lawwell, Celtic's chief executive, tied up Darren O'Dea and Aiden McGeady earlier this year. The 24-year-old Scotland defender's deal runs out at the end of next season.

Strachan will also have talks with club captain Neil Lennon who has yet to decide whether he will stay on at Celtic for another season. Lennon would not commit himself earlier this week to any specific course of action though he seemed to rule out a move to the US.

Shunsuke Nakamura has also attracted transfer interest but is expected to stay at Celtic Park.

A queue, though, seems to be forming for Artur Boruc, the goalkeeper, who has had a marvellous season, particularly in high-profile European matches. Strachan would only say of speculation surrounding the Pole: "I would like to think a lot of the players have got admirers. But until there is any sort of reality to these things I can't comment. I just can't deal with speculation."

Speaking ahead of today's Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-final with St Johnstone at Hampden Park, Strachan revealed that Maciej Zurawski would miss the game with the calf injury sustained in last weekend's win over Motherwell. Jiri Jarosik, the Czech midfielder, is back in training and Kenny Miller is available for selection after recovering from a virus.

However, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink dropped a heavy hint about Celtic's line-up.

Strachan admitted he had picked his team but was not commenting further. The Dutch centre-forward, though, was later asked if he was looking forward to playing in tandem with Derek Riordan at Hampden.

He replied: "Yes. I've played with a lot of people. You take advantage of the positive points of each other.

"I don't have a preference of playing up front with anyone as long as they don't mind playing with me."

He added, however: "Derek has something special about him. He is always searching for a goal and has a nice touch. He's a little bit special."