HE may not so much as bat an eyelid whenever he takes to the field at Ibrox despite the abuse that is always aimed in his direction by Rangers fans. But speaking in front of a few thousand Celtic supporters? That proved to be a distinctly discombobulating experience for the normally unflappable Scott Brown.
Brown launched his new DVD Captain, Leader, Legend at “An Evening With Broony” in the SEC Armadillo in Glasgow last night and enjoyed the event. He admitted, however, to suffering from a few pre-match jitters as he waited in the wings to make his entrance.
“It’s entertaining playing in front of 60,000 fans,” he said. “But it’s a different kind of nerves answering questions in front of 3,000. It’s hard speaking in front of a couple of hundred people, never mind 3,000 people. It’s something I’ve never done before.
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“I came to the Armadillo to watch Annie Lennox in concert. I never realised how big it is. It’s incredible on a personal level to have 3,000 people coming along to see me. It’s phenomenal managing to sell it out. I wouldn’t have expected it in my wildest dreams.”
Brown knows, having played alongside him with Celtic and Scotland in massive matches on numerous occasions in the past, that his close friend and team mate Leigh Griffiths isn’t the sort of individual to suffer from stage fright on big occasions.
So he is hoping the striker, who is working his way back to fitness after an extended spell on the sidelines due to personal issues and injury problems, can return to first team action soon.
The Parkhead club, who are bidding to win the Ladbrokes Premiership for the ninth consecutive year and have qualified for the Europa League knockout rounds, have some important games coming up in the weeks and months ahead.
Neil Lennon could desperately do with having Griffiths, who scored twice for the Celtic academy team against Stenhousemuir at Lennoxtown this week, available for selection as Vakoun Bayo is out injured and Odsonne Edouard is the only specialist centre forward at his disposal.
Scotland manager Steve Clarke, whose side have the Euro 2020 play-offs coming up in March, could also do with the man who became a Tartan Army hero when he scored two late free-kicks against England at Hampden in 2017 putting a troubled 12 months behind him.
Brown is optimistic Griffiths will be back doing what he does best for both club and country in the near future.
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“Everyone knows how good a player Leigh is,” he said. “He needs to get back to the required fitness levels that he used to have. But he’s working hard in training and looking after himself. Everything’s going well for him and he knows that, as soon as he goes on the park and gets a chance, he’ll score a goal.
“You always need one of those players in your team. He got to 100 goals for Celtic quicker than anyone else and that shows how well he’s done for us.
“We haven’t seen too much of him in training. We’ve had the international break and he’s been in doing bits and bobs. But he’s looking to get back in, he’s looking to get back to the fitness levels he had before and he’s going to have to play those bounce games to make sure he gets his match fitness more than anything.
“From there it is up to him and the manager how far he can push himself and if he can contend with Odsonne.”
Brown added: “He wants to play, he wants to play for Celtic. It is hard for any professional footballer when you aren’t playing and you are injured. It is always going to be a hard thing. But he is dealing with it and he is coming back. It is just trying to make sure he is in the best condition he can possibly be in.
“He is in a good frame of mind just now. We need to make sure that once he is in training he is scoring those goals and working as hard as everybody else and it isn’t all about scoring goals in the six yard box. We need that whole play from him, whether it is him defending, working hard, closing down people as well as scoring those goals.”
“It is hard for anyone. There are people who have done cruciates and have been out for a long time and you know what it’s like when you come back. In the first couple of games you are always a bit rusty. That is why he is trying to get as many bounce games and ressy games in now – so he is not that rusty when he comes into the first team.”
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“It would be a great boost for Scotland and a good boost for us at Celtic too. We need him fit as a fiddle and back to doing what he does best - scoring goals. He was incredible for Scotland. And against England it wasn’t just about the free-kicks he scored, but how well he controlled those two central defenders.
Steven Naismith, another player who has struggled with injury problems this year, performed superblyd for Scotland in their wins over Cyprus and Kazakhstan this month, but Brown feels Griffiths would offer Clarke something different.
“Griff and Naisy are two totally different players,” he said. “Leigh plays off the shoulder and Naisy is fantastic at holding the ball up and it’s a great combo.”
Celtic FC and supporters paid tribute to Scott Brown - Captain, Leader, Legend- to mark the release of his DVD at an “Evening with Broony” event in the SEC Armadillo, Glasgow, last night.
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