GET IT RIGHT BROON YE
Scott: I’ve been getting pelters at Tynecastle for 16 years and I love every minute of it
SCOTT BROWN has been hounded at Tynecastle for more than 16 years.
He’ll hate the day when it stops because it’s then he’ll realise he’s hopeless.
Many things have changed for Brown since the day in November 2003 when he dodged a probable red card for decking Hearts captain Steven Pressley as an overzealous Hibs teenager.
But there has been no alteration through the years as regards the stick he gets in Gorgie. It’s not all badtempered or abusive. Living in Edinburgh, he gets the good-natured jibes as well when he’s walking around.
Brown knows in the heat of battle tonight, however, he’ll be the one firmly in the firing line. It’s what pushes his buttons and makes him tick. In his eyes, if they are not on your case, you’re not any good.
Brown said: “I love going to Tynecastle with the fans right on top of you. You hear every single thing they say. It’s lovely, there is always a lot of them saying nice things about me! “But that good atmosphere is what it’s all about. I just go there to show them what I’m about and hopefully they will keep singing about me the next time.
“My first game there? I probably should have got sent off! Against Elvis I think it was. I smashed him a beauty and Hugh Dallas was the referee, somehow he let me away with it, I was already on a yellow.
“Staying in Edinburgh myself, I know a lot of Hearts fans, so I don’t want any of them having the bragging rights after the game.
“If I’m out in Edinburgh, out at the Christmas markets or something, I always get a bit of that friendly banter, depending on what the result is. But listen, with the run we’re on now, everyone wants to beat us.”
As Brown knows to his cost, an in-form Celtic can come unstuck at Tynecastle. Brendan Rodgers’ Invincibles were hammered 4-0 at the venue almost two years ago to the day and it was a clear example that, no matter the respective form lines beforehand, you need to be at it in Gorgie.
Brown said: “Hearts played fantastic that day while we didn’t turn up. We just thought we could pass the ball and make it nice and easy.
“It’s always in the back of your mind that no matter what happens you can always come back by scoring a goal from nowhere but that day we just weren’t at the races.
“You need to do the hard work and our performance against Hibs on Sunday there showed our pressing is back, the legs are back.
“Some of the lads got a wee rest against Cluj so, hopefully, we’re back to our best.
“It is always good to get a wee rest now and then, go and recharge the batteries. We have four games before the winter break, we need to make sure we are focused and ready.”
The incentives for Celtic tonight in the first of that aforementioned quartet are of course huge.
Victory will open a five-point gap at the top of the Premiership but Brown insists it’s important to view only the imminent 90 minutes and not the potential long-term rewards for success.
He should know the right way to go about it. He’s won eight titles in a row as skipper and said: “The main thing for us is to win and not think about going five points clear. If you start thinking about that then your performance may not go as well as it should.
“Every year we have been in a title race. Whether it is three, four, five, six or seven in a row you never count your chickens until you are standing there with the trophy.
“I have been in these situations when you think you have started the season really well, with Gordon (Strachan) and stuff, then we didn’t do that great in the second half of the season.
“We did exactly the same under Tony Mowbray so it is about us maintaining the levels, ticking off the goals we want to do and building on the performances. As long as we keep playing the way we are, we’ll be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.
“I’ve played with some great teams, we went invincible with Brendan (Rodgers) and I don’t think anyone would have expected that. We had a great team then, as we have now. “You never know what your best team is until you retire. You think of the history with Brendan and now Neil coming in and winning 10 trophies in a row. It’s been an enjoyable few years but it’s always tight no matter what.
“We had a title race with Aberdeen and one with Rangers last season. It’s always going to go down to the wire but the main thing is we keep working as hard as we possibly can to keep getting the results.”
I smashed Elvis a beauty and Hugh Dallas somehow let me away with it
SCOTT BROWN