Broony calls Strachan to tell him: Count me in for England
SCOTT BROWN has held fresh talks with Gordon Strachan to confirm he is ready to face England at Hampden next month.
Record Sport can reveal Brown phoned the Scotland manager on Sunday when he declared himself officially available for selection for the Battle of Britain clash on June 10, despite initial concerns over his hectic summer schedule.
And Brown has insisted he is as committed to his club as he is to his country by claiming he’d be willing to stay at Celtic for the rest of his career. The midfielder retired from the international set-up last summer but made a surprise U-turn ahead of the trip to take on England at Wembley in November – as exclusively revealed by Record Sport.
The 31-year-old then volunteered his services for the win-or-bust clash with Slovenia in March, captaining Strachan’s team to a 1-0 win that kept the gaffer’s
World Cup qualification campaign alive. But with Brendan Rodgers’s side back in pre-season training on June 19 question marks remained over his summer plans. Now those have been removed with Brown and Strachan’s latest one-to-one.
A source said: “The general assumption was Scott would be available because everyone knows how patriotic he is and how badly he wants to help the manager and the country.
“But there was still a big decision for him to make because when he stepped down from the international set-up he genuinely believed his body could not cope with the demands. Gordon has told him all along not to pay any attention to that sort of thing – that he’s as fit as a butcher’s dog – and Brendan Rodgers has also given him added reassurance.
“So a conversation took place between Scott and Gordon over the weekend and both of them are delighted with the outcome.
“Scott will get a few days off after the Scottish Cup Final on May 27 and then get his boots back on for the England game.”
Brown dodged questions on his international intentions yesterday.
He said: “I have sat down with the gaffer and looked at a couple of situations. We’ll see how it goes.
“I want to play as many games as I can. The break is the biggest problem but I’m going to give it my best shot.”
It came as the Hoops skipper said he plans to commit the rest of
his career to Celtic after turning down moves to play in the Premier League in the past.
He added: “I would love to stay here as long as I possibly could and finish at this club. I have one year left and we haven’t spoken about extending – not yet.
“We’ll wait till after this season is out the way and see what happens. We have three important games left so there is no point in talking about contracts now. It’s the best club I’ve ever been at and the best club I ever will be at.
“The fanbase, the football base and training base is first class. There is no harm in dropping down a level if you feel you can’t compete or I feel my body can’t compete at this level. Hence the reason I retired for Scotland because I felt I couldn’t compete at the level I wanted to and as soon as I can’t do that, that will be me.
“People can judge me if they want but I’m not going to prove I need to be in England. I play for Scotland, I captain my country and the only thing I want to do is lead my country to a World Cup and win trophies for Celtic. I don’t need to prove anything to anybody.”