WHETHER it’s going toe-to-toe with the shimmering stars of Barcelona or cheek-by-jowl with the sturdy servants of Albion Rovers, Scott Brown is clearly a man for all seasons.
“It doesn’t matter if he is playing at the Nou Camp or playing where we did on Sunday (against Albion Rovers), he is up for every game,” said the Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers. While not quite down on bended knee as he shovelled great clumps of acclaim upon his club captain, Rodgers still spoke with cooing reverence as Brown approaches his 400th appearance for the Parkhead club.
Since moving along the M8 from Hibernian a decade ago, Brown has been a major cog in the Celtic engine room and, ahead of his milestone against St Johnstone tomorrow night, Rodgers was full of praise for the combative midfielder.
“In the modern era, to accumulate that number of games at a club where the expectancy is huge is a great achievement,” he said. “I’m really glad he is getting the appreciation for what he gives the team. He is now getting appreciated for his footballing qualities and his professionalism.
“To do that at a club like Celtic where there are challenges every single day is testament to his level of energy and desire as well as his quality on the field.” Rodgers’s diligent and disciplined footballing philosophy has clearly been beneficial to Brown.
No more pizzas being guzzled while slumped on the streets of Auld Reekie then? “My feeling always is that it is about environment,” added Rodgers.
“With 95 per cent of players they want to improve. If you create the environment for them and have a plan for each individual they can improve.
“That is about nutrition, listening, coaching. A bit of everything. What level they improve to is entirely up to them. I felt with him if we could take all of those aspects of football which make you perform and improve it all by a little bit then it could change a lot. That is what Scott has done. He has been outstanding domestically and in the European games he was first class. Look at his stats and numbers in relation to his passing qualities? There were enough people who said that wasn’t his strength, that he could just run about and kick people. But I think he has shown he can channel it in the right way.
“He has shown to me a high level of technical and tactical ability to play the game. And it is improving all the time. It is massive credit to him because he has wanted to change and play the game in a different way. And also play his life in a different way.
“At the end of it he has performed to an excellent level. He is a great, great fella and it is a pleasure working with him.”
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