HUNGRY for MORE
Not even the Australian sunshine or golf courses of America could tempt Brown to quit pursuit of glory with his Bhoys
SCOTT BROWN could have been celebrating his 35th birthday with a stroll along an Australian beach or a swing of a golf club on a pristine American fairway.
Instead, he will greet today’s landmark by pushing himself through another sweat-soaked training session at Lennoxtown. A cause for regret? Not at all. There is no place he would rather be.
It seems certain Brown’s existence would be easier had he taken up the opportunities to move to the MLS or A-League that crossed his path during the last 18 months.
Without decrying either competition, turning out for Sporting Kansas City or Western United would come with a reduced level of scrutiny and pressure. For his family, too, there were obvious attractions in the lifestyle offered by changing countries.
Even when added up together, however, that wasn’t enough to tempt him away from Parkhead. Not when more achievements, more history, felt so tantalisingly close.
Brown was written off more than once by questioning onlookers during Celtic’s march to nine-in-a-row. Each time, it simply redoubled his determination to prove he still has what it takes to lead from the front as a captain.
Having emphatically proved that again last season, he is relishing the prospect of a 14th campaign in the club’s colours and the chance to pursue an unprecedented tenth successive title when Premiership action makes a planned return on August 1. Nothing on offer could quite match up.
‘When I had the chance to go to Australia or the USA last year there were a lot of people who couldn’t understand why I stayed and signed a two-year contract because they thought my best days were already behind me,’ recalled Brown. ‘However, I enjoy proving people wrong.
‘There’s no question that America and Australia both looked good. They had the sunshine, the beaches, the golf courses and the lovely lifestyle that goes with that.
‘But winning games in front of a full Celtic Park, winning trebles and clinching nine-in-a-row definitely tops it.
‘I came to Celtic because I wanted to win trophies, play in the Champions League and test myself against the best players in the world. I’ve done all of those things and loved it and I still want more.
‘Celtic fans demand that we get the best players in Scotland and put in performances in the right manner. I thrive under that kind of pressure, especially if pundits and even supporters think my legs have gone.’
Signed in a £4.4million deal from Hibernian in the summer of 2007, Brown has obviously matured as both a person and player while retaining his core characteristics. An unmistakable drive has fuelled his career and often lifted those around him.
‘Proving people wrong is something I’ve done since I was a kid,’ he admitted. ‘When I was younger I was told I wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t tall enough and I wasn’t aggressive enough.
‘I went away and tried to work on all of those things and maybe went a bit too far on the aggression sometimes. But that’s what I’ve always done and what I intend to continue doing while playing with a smile on my face.’
The relentless nature of the expectation at Celtic could grind some players down. Perhaps complacency could intervene. Or a sense of monotony. Maintaining standards season after season is not straightforward.
Recently, of course, Celtic have done that to an extraordinary degree. Awarded last term’s Premiership title on a pointsper-game basis following the coronavirus shutdown, this team — managed first by Brendan Rodgers and then Neil Lennon — has won the last 11 available domestic trophies.
The chance to make it a round dozen will arise if and when plans to play out the 2019-20 Scottish Cup semifinals and final are revealed.
So does Brown feel it gets harder every year to keep on hoovering up the prizes?
‘Not really because the pressure is always the same here,’ he argued. ‘Now we’re two wins away from a fourth successive Treble people expect that we should be able to do that all the time even though no one’s ever done it before. ‘We’re not supposed to lose in the league to anyone, which is bound to happen now and again. It’s how you bounce back from disappointments that matters. ‘We have that bouncebackability, that knack of being able to go on a run after a setback, like we did after losing to Rangers at Parkhead in December. ‘We went to Dubai, worked really hard and we were flying after that: in fact, we were devastated when the season was ended early because we believed we would have finished in style and won it by a lot more points. ‘Everyone knows we deserved to win it and that we could have got the job done one way or another.’ Brown jokes that the longer hair grown during lockdown
— soon to be removed — is a sign of a mid-life crisis.
Turning 35 may install him in the veteran category, but the advancing years have also heightened his appreciation of everything he achieves.
A point is now made of taking it all in, of savouring all the good times the game provides. Memories are being stored.
‘I cherish every single moment I go on the park now,’ insisted Brown. ‘That’s why I play with a smile nowadays, which I didn’t really ten years ago. Playing in front of 60,000 fans is something that isn’t going to last forever so you need to take it all in. I enjoy training and even the drive through to Lennoxtown.
‘I have a routine which I’ve followed now for 13 years and I don’t ever want it to end but it will one day so you just have to make the most of it while you can.
‘Staying injury-free and having a good attitude helps, too.’