TALKING CELTIC
JOHAN MJALLBY believes that Hoops skipper Scott Brown has more to his game than simply snarling and sniping at the heels of opposition teams.
Celtic play Rangers in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday, a game that Brown could have missed had it not been for the bank holiday weekend.
The extra day chopped off the working week meant there was insufficient time for a hearing to be arranged for Thursday, meaning that Celtic’s appeal — which will be formally lodged today with the SFA — will free up the midfielder to play when he could well have been starting his suspension.
And Mjallby believes that Brown’s influence on the Parkhead midfield extends far beyond the superficial aggressive persona.
“Having had the chance to work with him, he is a great player to have in your team,” said Mjallby. “He is an excellent skipper, he has that energy, passion and drive you need from your captain.
“As a footballer, he is also better technically than he is given credit for. In the four years I worked with him, I was quite impressed with him whenever we did technical skills.
“He has that reputation as a running, aggressive midfielder but there is so much more to him. I played against him when he was a young kid at Hibs, only 17 or 18, and you could see he would become a really good player. But maybe not this great.
“He has had a fantastic career for Celtic. Over the years, he has got more and more positive reviews and more credit.
“When I was assistant manager at Celtic, he was always being recognised for his great energy, desire and running. He was known as hot-headed, someone who will always give you everything.
“It’s great to have him in your team, not only for his leadership skills but because he is a very good footballer.”
And Mjallby has also insisted that while Brown has curtailed much of the impetuousness that curtailed his game time in the earlier years of his senior career, that it can’t be eradicated completely without compromising the qualities which the midfielder brings.
“I like that side of him as well,” he said. “You need to bring a wee bit of aggression into your game as well and he is about aggression. He is a very good footballer but I don’t think that you are ever going to see Scott Brown not going into a game showing no passion or desire or aggression.
“That isn’t Scott. Those things are important to him. Maybe he over-reacted a bit because he was disappointed at conceding a goal from a penalty that shouldn’t have been given. It happens and he should have dealt with it in a calmer way.”
MEANWHILE, Mjallby has insisted that the current group of Celtic players are not in the same bracket as Martin O’Neill’s Treble-winning team.
Mjallby was part of the Parkhead team who last won a Treble in 2000-01 and he believes the experience of that group is what marked them out.
Brendan Rodgers’ team could get through this domestic season unbeaten which would be a considerable feat, albeit that the level of opposition is not what is was during Mjallby’s playing career.
And while t he former defender has applauded that as well as the current position of
If they keep doing what they’re doing they are going to be No.2 after Lisbon Lions
Rodgers team, he believes that his own squad at Celtic with players such as Neil Lennon, Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton, Johan Hartson, Paul Lambert and Stiliyan Petrov had a little bit more about them.
Asked if O’Neill’s team would beat Rodgers’ team, the Swede said: “I’d say yes. I say that because of the experience. We were a team of grown up boys, in fact, we were men.
“This team now is fantastic but you need to give it another year before you can compare it with Martin’s team. But if they keep doing what they’re doing now they’re going to be No.2 after the Lisbon Lions. I would say that the opposition was probably harder for us. You had a very strong Rangers at the time. You had Hearts, Dundee and Dundee United who were stronger than the rest of the teams are right now. But nevertheless, it would be an amazing feat [going unbeaten].”
THERE are parallels between the teams, of course. Most noticeably the fact the league has been won at an early stage of the campaign with the Scottish Cup still to be negotiated.
“We were in the same position as Celtic are today,” he reflected. “We had a great season. Quite early we knew that we had won the league and the League Cup before then.
“The task was to keep your focus, form and be in shape. You try not to get any negative thoughts, like ‘alright, one or two more games and holiday’.
“It’s more about keeping your focus and doing the same things you’ve done during the season because it’s working. Don’t try to complicate things. And we had Martin, who was probably one of the best motivators in the game. He was quite good at keeping you on your toes so that you didn’t slack off too much.
“They have an Old Firm semi-final in the cup. If you look at the league table, you can’t wipe that away.
“Everyone is going to say, and should say, that Celtic are the favourites for this game. But there are no points there. They start from scratch. It’s 0-0 when they start the game.”