Brown tells his critics to ‘stuff’ it

SCOTT BROWN plans to gauge his future as Scotland captain on a month-bymonth basis and insists he could not care less if critics accuse him of picking games to suit himself. The Celtic skipper will hold talks with the still-to-benamed new national boss before deciding if he wants to play on. The SFA are chasing written confirmation of the £500,000 exit clause in Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland contract before lodging a formal offer of compensation. With an intense programme

of domestic and European games at club level ahead of him, 32-year-old Brown plans to speak to the new man in charge before deciding if the additional demands of international football are too much. ‘We’ll see who comes in,’ said Brown from Celtic’s training camp in Dubai. ‘Then we’ll see what happens. ‘Listen, I’ve not made any decision whatsoever. The way I’m playing, I’m enjoying my football. I play as many games as I can. ‘If the Scotland games come and the new manager wants me to come along, then I’m happy to go. But it could be that he doesn’t want me. ‘I will be 35-and-a-half by the time the next campaign finishes, so it all depends. For me, I think I need to go month-by-month fitness-wise.’ Brown briefly retired from international football in 2016 in a quest to prolong his club career. He reversed that decision within months, however, to support former Scotland — and Celtic — manager Gordon Strachan ahead of a World Cup qualifier with England at Wembley. Accused of selective patriotism and of picking and choosing his games, Brown responded: ‘It’s lucky I don’t read any of that. ‘I need to think about playing for as long as I can and doing what’s best for me. ‘If it comes to it, stuff everybody else to be perfectly honest. I’ve got to make sure that I can play football for as long as I possibly can. ‘It’s the thing I enjoy most and it’s the only thing I really know how to do. ‘So, for me, sometimes I need to take a step back and think about it for myself and then go from there. ‘I retired the last time due to me not being fit enough. I couldn’t set the standards I wanted to set for neither Celtic or Scotland. ‘It was hard but since the manager (Brendan Rodgers) came in here, he’s freshened everything up and I feel good again now. ‘But that’s a thing I need to keep in the back of my mind, that I don’t kill myself going away with Scotland for ten days and two big games. ‘I need to be playing for Celtic as well, so I need to make sure that I’m fine for the best of both worlds really. ‘Right now, I’m enjoying my football and feeling as fresh as I probably ever have done right after Christmas and I’m raring to go again.’ Insisting he still enjoys representing his country, Brown maintained his future availability is a question of fitness rather than enthusiasm or commitment. ‘I love playing for Scotland,’ he added. ‘The (European) finals in 2020 have games in Glasgow, which would be great but I don’t even know if I’ll still be playing by then. ‘I enjoy it and I really enjoy being captain of Scotland. It’s a huge honour but sometimes you need to look after your own body.’