Even as a Bairn I knew that Scott had enough to take care of the big boys
JOHN HUGHES knew he had a diamond on his hands when he let Scott Arfield loose in the big boys’ playground as a Bairn. Throwing the then teenager to Falkirk first-team lion Russell Latapy day in, day out in training proved he was made of stern stuff. And the fact he kept coming back for more with a smile on his face proved he had the temperament to match his talent. Watching the 30-year-old boss Scott Brown and the rest of Celtic’s midfield as Rangers won last weekend’s Old Firm derby hands down may have been grim viewing for former Hoops defender Yogi. But it reinforced his belief Arfield has fulfilled the potential that prompted him to hand the then 18year-old a debut in 2007. Potential the midfield man honed taking on Trinidad and Tobago playmaker Latapy by day then putting in the long, hard runs in bucketing rain by night.
Hughes said: “Scott was always going to make the grade. I am talking about much higher than Falkirk.
“Falkirk was Scott’s learning curve and the place where he served his apprenticeship. “As a kid Scott had a different attitude from them all. His work ethic and thirst for knowledge were incredible. “You only needed to give Scott an instruction once and he carried it out. As soon as you told him what to do Scott was the kind of player who implemented it instantly during a game. “In training matches when you were nursing him into the first-team fold I deliberately put him up against Russell. “I told him to play directly against Russell as I wanted to see how he would handle that. Russell was