Scott Brown

SCOTT Brown last night pledged his long-term future to both his club and country - by revealing he will sign a contract extension with Celtic and is now available for selection by Scotland indefinitely.
Brown’s current deal with the Parkhead club, who he joined from Hibernian in a £4.4 million transfer back in 2007, expires at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
But Brendan Rodgers, who has formed a strong bond with his captain since being appointed manager last summer, is keen for him to remain beyond that and has held talks with the player.
The 32-year-old, who arrived in the Czech Republic yesterday afternoon with the rest of the Celtic squad ahead of their pre-season friendly with Slavia Prague here this evening, confirmed he would stay on.
However, the midfielder, who has been rewarded for his service to the club with a testimonial, will put further discussions about his future on hold until after the Scottish champions have completed their Champions League qualifying campaign.
“I’d love to stay,” he said. “Celtic know I’m not going to go nowhere. I would like to finish my career here, whether it is two, three or four years down the line. Playing in front of 60,000 at Celtic Park is the best feeling I’ve ever had.
“It is a good thing that the gaffer and I have got that relationship. We sat down and spoke. He asked me and I said I would be delighted to do it again. He said: ‘Well, we’ll sort something out’.
“But we will wait until we get through the qualifiers. We don’t want that situation rumbling on over the next couple of weeks. We’ve got to focus on getting to the Champions League.”
Meanwhile, Brown, who came out of international retirement last season to play for Scotland in their Russia 2018 qualifier against England at Wembley in November, has stated he now plans to play on for his country for the foreseeable future.
The player decided not to represent his country in August last year after being dogged by niggling injuries and disappointing form. However, a complete break from the game last summer led to a dramatic improvement in his fitness and performances and he reversed his decision just two months later.
Initially, he made himself available on a game-by-game basis. But after doing well in Group F matches against Slovenia in March and England again last month he now intends to keep turning out for the national team as long as he is selected.
Asked what he was going to do with Scotland, he said: “Keep playing. I’m enjoying it. As long as I’m fit I’ll be fine. I spoke to Gordon (Scotland manager Strachan) and he said it was up to me. He said whatever my decision was, he’d back me. I want to maintain being in the squad and being in that environment.
“The gaffer (Rodgers) is brand new as well. He says it’s my decision. Whether I go on for this campaign or the next campaign, it’s a question of how long my legs can go on doing it for."
“I missed it. I went along to the Lithuania game and I wanted to be a part of the squad and a part of the team. I wanted to go out there and play for the jersey. But at the time I’d thought I was struggling to keep up with the rest. I needed that time off.
“I maybe jumped in a wee bit too early in saying I was retiring. But I’d done what was best for me. Now, for me to have come back and worked on my fitness, I’m probably back stronger than I’ve ever been.”
















SCOTT Brown has been here many times before in his Celtic career. Written off by his detractors. Dismissed as a spent force by those who wish him ill. Tipped to struggle as his powers diminish.

But the Celtic captain, who has revealed he will sign a new contract at the Parkhead club in what is his testimonial year, is taking the same attitude to the snipers, of whom there has never been any shortage, as he has always done.

It would be impossible to have survived for as long as he has in Paradise without being able to withstand the flak. The barbs which are aimed in his direction bounce off the midfielder like rival players trying to dispossess him. If anything, they provoke a positive reaction.

“It is only a matter of time before somebody wants to kill you off,” said Brown from the Czech Republic, where Celtic have come to play their third pre-season friendly against Slavia Prague this evening, yesterday afternoon. “But it has been that way in my career for the last 15 years. People have always done that, people can’t wait to knock you down.

“I don’t give a flying f***. People can think whatever they want of me. I do my job for Scotland and I do my job for Celtic. I work as hard as I possibly can. I do whatever I need to do in training and outside of training to be the best I can be.

“You need to have a thick skin to do this. The abuse I get? That’s life. People can write on Twitter or Instagram or whatever. It doesn’t really bother me. I enjoy seeing the wee comments like ‘Scotty, you’re s****.’ I think: ‘I know mate - but I’m still playing and I’m 32!’ I’m just here to prove everyone wrong – even the sports science guys here.”

He has certainly done that in the last 12 months. This time last year the focus on Brown was intense and the pressure on him to perform considerable.

He had, despite helping Celtic to win their fifth consecutive Scottish title, been a shadow of the player he once was. He had suffered from a series of niggling injuries. He looked unfit and his form was often poor. At 31, even many of his admirers thought he may be in decline.

But a complete break from the game last summer, coupled with the arrival of Brendan Rodgers as manager, transformed him. He was back to his very best both domestically, where his side went undefeated and won the treble, and in Europe, where his team qualified for the Champions League group stages for the first time in three years.

Retiring from international football last August after winning his 50th cap – a decision he went back on after just two months – undoubtedly helped to replenish his energy levels.

So, isn’t the fact that he is back playing for both club and country going to take an inevitable toll on his body once again? He is confident it won’t. He revealed he had the complete faith of both Rodgers at Celtic and his mentor and friend Gordon Strachan with Scotland too.

“I just need to maintain my levels of fitness,” he said. “If I know I can play at that level I will continue doing it as long as I can. If I can’t then I will know it is time for me to go. As soon as I can’t chase the lads at training I will know I am letting them down. It won’t be a decision that anyone else will make.

“For me, it is in the runs more than anything. When we are doing sprints and I am closing people down and I can’t keep up I think that is when you know your legs are going and your time is slowing fading away.”

Brown had less than a fortnight off after the Russia 2018 qualifier against England at Hampden at the end of last month. But he feels the impressive levels of strength and fitness which both he and his team mates have attained under Rodgers is helping him to cope better with the demands which are placed on him both physically and mentally.

“I am actually alright,” he said. “I thought with the 10 or 12 days off I would have come back struggling and feeling like I’ve not been away. But, no, it has no bother whatsoever. I caught right up right away. Everybody else has looked after their body and has stayed sharp. We are probably as fit as we ever have been at this stage due to us not having that long time off.”

“I think for me the issue was with groins and around the pubic area. I need to protect myself from that. But I have come back in and am not feeling anything whatsoever. I am back doing what I normally do. I have the same stats as I did at the end of last season. You catch up really quickly.

“When the gaffer came in he was keen on making sure everyone looked after their body, on making sure you are going in and getting rubs, doing what you need to do to make sure you are fit for the next day’s training so you can push your numbers higher than they have ever been before.

Strachan, who famously played on until he was in his forties, has been struck by the change in the player. “I was speaking to Gordon when we were away with Scotland and he was talking about how much fitter I looked compared to the season before when we met up just before I retired. He told me ‘if you keep going at that pace I don’t see why you can’t push for three of four more years’. As soon as you can’t chase the young ones that is game, set and match.”

 

"I don't give a flying *" wit a guy

 

Can't wait to see him and their "hard man" Alves square up to each other. Brown will put the * right up the big poofy looking *.

 

GARY Mackay-Steven believes captain Scott Brown is fully deserving of being awarded a testimonial after a decade of sterling service in the Hoops.

On Sunday the club announced it had facilitated a request by the Testimonial Committee to arrange a match in Paradise to honour the contribution of the skipper, who was outstanding for Celtic last season as they made history by clinching the treble and becoming Invincibles.

Mackay-Steven has played alongside the 32-year-old since he joined the Bhoys from Dundee United two-and-a-half years ago, and he was delighted to see Brown receive such recognition.

“It’s an amazing personal achievement for Broony to get a testimonial at a club like this and he more than deserves it for his contribution over the years,” the winger told the official website.

“He has been a massive character on and off the pitch ever since he came here and he seems to get better year after year. Last year he was playing at such a high level and he shows no signs of letting up, and I think he will be here for many years to come, leading the team in every way possible. I am very happy for him and he deserves it so much.

“I heard a few people say last season that a lot of the work he goes unnoticed in terms of winning individual awards at the end of the season, but certainly as a team-mate, I know all of the boys appreciate all the work he does.

“He sets the standard day-in, day-out, and he could win Player of the Year comfortably every season with what he does as he is such a consistent performer. He is definitely great to learn off.”

 

The quote below needs to be sent to Stuart Armstrong, about having some proper class and commitment to such a big club. At least Broonie appreciates the scale of responsibility and prestige of playing for this club and has the actual respect for it to just say 'just give me the papers and I will sign'. This is also essentially what KT did.

 

Easy enough to say that when he is on a massive wage compared to Armstrong at present, as much as fans don't like it Stuart is well within his rights to look for the best deal he can get, hopefully that deal is with us and he does do a Broony and stay for years to come.

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/CelticTV/status/882526278615781376/video/1

 

Broony loves the club. Seemingly Stuey doesn't appreciate it/us/the management team much.

 

Broony loves Celtic, 'Stuey' loves himself, and you love 'Stuey'. A scandalous quadrangle!!

 

Nonsense. If we gave stu a wage that overpayed him , I doubt it would take long for him to 'appreciate the prestige of playing for this club'.
Plus stu's commitment to us will actually be tested, because hes a quality player that will attract attention coming off a near 20 goal season from midfield. Something that there is no concrete proof of ever happening with brown in all his time here

 

2 of his best performances in the Hoops has been against Benfica.

 

Benfica did come to mind. Played very well in Salzburg away when he came back from injury too. Just one that sticks out in my mind

 

Great performances last year against manky mob at Ipox. Wonder if they would do a testimonial? We could throw a few quid there way.......

 

Are you suggesting 1) that Brown is overpaid and 2) Armstrong is better than him?

Also, brown has said himself he had offers from the Premier League. I'd consider that to be more concrete than anything with Armstrong so far.

 

Nah he's deserved it for the the last 3 years undoubtedly , 6 years ago when he got it initially certainly not.
And no theyre different players that bring different things to the team but he is deserving of a similar wage. Like browns wage is more a reward for his service and what he brings to the team that no one else really could. But Stus would be an investment as we can still sell him on for a hefty fee.

 

He better bring Samaras back for his testimonial when the day comes

 

Just read back some of the first posts in this thread.

Makes you laugh

 

Captain Scott Brown is a doubt for Celtic's Champions League first-round qualifier against Linfield after limping off injured during their pre-season thrashing of Shamrock Rovers.

The midfielder lasted just 32 minutes of the 9-0 triumph in Dublin.

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers revealed Brown's Achilles had troubled him.

"[His Achilles] was a little bit sore and we just need to assess that over the next couple of days," Rodgers told Celtic TV. "Nothing too serious."

The Scottish champions are already without centre-back Dedryck Boyata for up to three months due to ruptured knee ligaments.

Striker Moussa Dembele made his first appearance since injuring his hamstring in the Scottish Cup semi-final in April, and scored one of Celtic's nine goals. New signing Jonny Hayes also found the net.

Rodgers' men begin their European campaign against Linfield in Belfast on Friday.