Brown much more than an enforcer
SAYS SCOTT SINCLAIR
CAPTAIN courageous, midfield enforcer, notorious wrecker of game plans and clever tactical ploys. Scott Brown is used to hearing himself damned with such slyly faint praise.
But Scott Brown, playmaker and string-puller extraordinaire? It’s a description that doesn’t often sit easily with the public image of the Celtic captain.
Dundee manager Neil McCann described Brown (below) as ‘a very under-rated footballer’ in the wake of Wednesday night’s Betfred Cup drubbing by Celtic, highlighting how the Scotland midfielder had pulled his own team apart with the ball at his feet.
Scott Sinclair, a member of the front three garnering all the attention and headlines for their goal-scoring, game-winning, defence-shattering exploits, is quick to concur on the subject of Brown’s less-celebrated qualities.
‘Scott is very under-rated and, yes, he goes under the radar,’ said Sinclair. ‘He is our captain and leader. Not only does he make strong challenges, but he also gets the ball down and passes it. He controls the midfield.
‘With the front three, when we are playing and scoring goals, maybe that takes a bit of the light off Scott.’
Nobody at Rangers, surely, will make the mistake of pigeon-holing Brown as merely a dark destroyer at the heart of the Ibrox battle tomorrow.
If they don’t set out to deny him space, the veteran will be more than cute enough to cut them to shreds.
The problem for Pedro Caixinha, of course, is that he could deploy nine of his ten outfield players to fire-fighting jobs without covering every outlet available to opposite number Brendan Rodgers.
Back at Ibrox for the first time since the 5-1 battering of their hosts, Celtic will expect a tougher challenge.
However, they’ll trust in their ability, their game, their style of play… and believe that it’s good enough to get the job done. Asked about the psychological impact of returning to Ibrox, Sinclair said: ‘The result we got there late last season will give us confidence to go and relax — and enjoy the game.
‘Our confidence is high going into Saturday’s game. We need to go out there and do it again.’
The prospect of any player relaxing and enjoying an Old Firm game may seem odd to anyone steeped in the dark rivalry of this fixture.
Yet there is a swagger about Celtic, understandable given their domestic dominance, that immunises their top performers from the threat of a debilitating derby fever.
Sinclair, batting aside any notion that an improved Rangers represent an entirely different threat, declared: ‘They have made changes.
‘We need to concentrate on ourselves. Once we concentrate on ourselves, we will be hard to beat.
‘I concentrate on Celtic and all that surrounds Celtic. I don’t look at other players.
‘We just focus on ourselves. From last year up until now, it has been working — so we don’t need to look elsewhere.
‘I wouldn’t say not to worry because there are always going to be games where things don’t go right for you.
‘But it is about being mentally strong and, whatever comes, we have to make sure we match it — and come out on top.’
The threat of Sinclair, Patrick Roberts and either Moussa Dembele or Leigh Griffiths is usually enough to keep Celtic ahead in most fixtures. This one matters more, of course. Not least to fans.
Asked to pick his highlight of games against Rangers so far, Sinclair said: ‘Winning. ‘Coming off winning all the time is the main thing. When we come off with the three points that is the whole object of things.
‘It doesn’t matter how many we win by — as long as we get the three points.’
Asked if he thought the Rangers players might fear a repeat of that April thrashing, Sinclair said: ‘I’m sure you would need to ask them. ‘We go in high in confidence and aiming to play our game — and get the full three points.’