STEFAN JOHANSEN is confident Celtic will be stronger than ever when they return from the international break.

The SPFL Premiership champions went into the two-week sabbatical on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Hamilton Accies in front of a stunned Parkhead crowd.

It's a result which leaves the Hoops in sixth place with a raft of fixtures in the league, League Cup and Europa League on the horizon.

Celtic manager Ronny Deila has been prone to chop and change his starting XI this season already, with not one player starting every game.

With James Forrest, Mikael Lustig and Adam Matthews almost ready for action after injury lay-offs, Norwegian Johansen reckons the Hoops' stuttering start to the season will be a thing of the past when all the players return to domestic duty in Dingwall a week on Saturday.

He said: "It's no excuse but we have had a lot of injuries. It does have an impact on results.

"We should have done better but guys are starting to come back. It's looking good.

"Ronny is always talking about how we can improve as players. There's been a lot of talk about it.

"We don't care so much what the people outside of us think about it, we just know we can improve as players. The gaffer and the team are there to help us."

Another big reason for Johansen's optimism is the reintroduction of captain Scott Brown into the fold.

The Parkhead and Scotland star had missed the start of the season due to a hamstring injury suffered in a pre- season friendly against Rapid Vienna.

The 29-year-old returned in the green and white hoops against Aberdeen last month to guide his team to a 2-1 win.

Brown went on to play his part in a run of five unbeaten matches prior to last weekend's defeat by Hamilton.

It's a stat and run that illustrates the influence the Celtic captain has on his team-mates, and his central midfield partner Johansen said: "Scott is so good to play with. When he's there he gives you hard work, he's a good passer, he drives the game.

"Scott is just a fantastic captain and every team needs a guy like him.

"He is an amazing person and I'm enjoying playing with him. Any side would miss a guy like him. He is a good guy and he is funny too. But he is as a captain should be."

Like many around the Celtic dressing room, Johansen will be enjoying a break from all the stresses and strains that come with being part of the Glasgow giants.

The 23-year-old is away with a Norway side that hasn't qualified for a tournament since the 2000 Euros in Belgium and Holland - or a World Cup since they played Scotland back at France 98.

After losing 2-0 to Italy in Oslo last month, Norway now have the chance to rectify matters against Malta and Bulgaria.

Johansen said: "It's always an honour to be picked up by the national team and I think we've probably got a better chance to qualify than we have had since I have been here.

"It's going to be tough as we are away to Malta and at home to Bulgaria.

"But it's a real opportunity. We need to stop hiding and stop saying, 'it's okay to draw, the team needs to improve blah blah blah'.

"We know right now that we're in qualifying and you need to get results.

"Scotland and Norway are two countries who want to go to France and Scotland have some great players.

"We do as well, so hopefully we'll both go."