SCOTT BROWN this evening can take another step towards securing a 7th successive league title as captain when he leads Celtic out to face Dundee. That he is fit to play in the match is something of a marvel in itself – after the horrendous assault he suffered on Saturday against Ross County.
The Highlanders have Brown admirers in their dressing room and Saturday’s culprit was apparently told in no uncertain terms that he was way out of order. Without him in the side, they picked themselves up and hammered Partick Thistle to leapfrog them into second bottom spot, much to the anger of the Jags fans who made the long journey on a cold night to see their side thumped 4-0.
It wasn’t just Partick Thistle who among the Glasgow sides, had a bad night. Aberdeen did what neither Celtic or Rangers could do and won away to Motherwell while Hibs took care of Hamilton at Easter Road. This win propels the Dons 3 points clear of third placed Rangers who have on-form Hibs now just a single point behind them in fourth spot.
Aberdeen’s position is quite remarkable given they have failed to take anything against Celtic and have also lost 3 times to the Ibrox side.
In the days leading up to Beautiful Sunday the Rangers forums were talking up a title race now they are gloomily predicting that they will finish in fourth spot, failing to see where any wins can come from after the split.
So 7 in a row seems all over bar the celebrations – The Celtic Star has even released our Magnificent Seven t-shirt early, for those who might want to wear it to Hampden in a few weeks time.
Back to Broony, he is the master of the Celtic dressing room. The players have a HUGE respect for their charismatic skipper who is a real leader on and off the park.
Brendan Rodgers yesterday spoke about the way in which Scott Brown is being treated within Scottish football – read that HERE – but that is only the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface, or behind the scenes, there is a HUGE amount of respect – maybe a fair proportion of that grudging – for the Celtic skipper.
That’s why Broony will win the Players Player of the Year by a landslide this season. He’ll also clear up with the various Celtic POTY awards although the press guys could look elsewhere (bless them).
During the international break – Scottish football’s phoney war – Brendan Rodgers gave a major interview to a journalist from the Daily Mail’s London office. He spoke about being happy at Celtic and that he planned to be here for a good while longer, dismissing the links to jobs at the likes of Arsenal or Southampton.
The way I read all of that is that Brendan Rodgers is here for ten in a row right enough. Scotty Sinclair then came out and actually said it – he was happy at Celtic and wanted to be here for ten in a row and you can bet your last dollar on Scott Brown – who also dismissed any not on that he’d go back to Hibs to finish off his playing days – is planning on leading the side to that historic achievement too.
Then what?
Brendan may well fancy another shot at the English Premier league and Scott Brown might see that as the time to hang up his boots and take over as the next Celtic manager.
Ronny Deila saw all this coming when he observed Scott Brown at close quarters in his time as the Celtic boss.
“Scott has the qualities to become a manager,” Ronny said back in 2015.
“He will continue his development at Celtic and, possibly, he’ll be ready for that task as well. It’s very positive for Scott to be helping, but it has to managed in the right way so it’s not taking away his energy.
“He’s loving Celtic and is a talented player, but he’s a talented coach, as well.
“He has leadership in him and wants to develop as a coach. I believe you also develop as a player if you are coaching as you reflect on what you do on the pitch.
“It’s about telling players what they should be doing in a short and concrete way so that will make him a better player as well.
“He can be a future manager. First, you need the motivation to do it and he has that.
“The next thing is learning and he has done that all his career. He has been at the one club for a very long time and that’s the sign of a very good person.
“If you are a bad person you won’t stay at the same club for a long time.”
You can order your Magnificent 7 t-shirt from thecelticstarbookstore.co.uk
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