Gordon Strachan has defended his decision not to  call up Celtic's Callum McGregor for the World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania and Malta, suggesting critics probably haven't watched the players he did pick.

McGregor's recent form for Celtic had seen him widely tipped to be called up to the squad for two must-win games, with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers among those to express his surprise at the midfielder not being picked.

Strachan noted that Rodgers had said that his decision as manager had to be respected and said that his squad had been picked after watching a raft of players who had been performing well in England.

"When people are making these decisions, has everybody seen every one of our players?," he asked. "Have they seen Barry Bannan play this year? He's been the best player in midfield in the Championship.

"Have they seen Tom Cairney play for Fulham? Have they seen Darren Fletcher playing? Have they seen this one playing, that one playing?

"Do they also understand what I'm looking for over the next two games? What type of player I need over the next two games?

"These are the things I have to think about.

"I understand every manager wants their players to be involved because they are all proud of their players.

"You can say the same about the Aberdeen players or Jordan Rhodes. There's loads - Kevin McDonald at Fulham, Ross Wallace at Sheffield Wednesday. There's loads and I could go on - what about Barrie McKay? I've seen him in the last couple of weeks and he's done lots of nice things at Nottingham Forest. There are loads of good players out there.

"I understand the managers want their players in the squad but they have to understand the type of players I need for that game.

"Most managers have been very understanding, that's for sure. [Brendan] has also said he respects my decision so I will go along with that."

However, Strachan did have some sympathy for McGregor, pointing out that midfield was by far the most competitive part of his squad.

"We're stronger in some positions and weaker in others, that's for sure," he said. "Sometimes you can be right unfortunate because you're playing well but we happen to be strong in your position.

"If you look at four or five midfield positions, we have about 15 players who could possibly be in this squad.

"But I've got to look at these two games coming up and decide what I need from the four or five players in the team."