POINTS OF ORDER

We’ve taken a vow of silence on ten in a row, says Celtic’s Brown

THEY’VE been playing catch-up, winning ugly, even failing to impress fans fearful of seeing history snatched from their grasp.

Yet there they stand, perfectly positioned on the shoulder of the league leaders, knowing that victory in their remaining game in hand puts them back on top.

And they’re already going pointfor-point with the Invincibles of 2016-17. So, despite the criticism of Neil Lennon and his team, it’s not all bad news for this Celtic side, is it?

In his 13 years at the club, Scott Brown has learned how to blot out the white noise from anxious supporters, mouthy opponents and all other quarters.

The Parkhead skipper deals with it in a simple manner, illustrated by his insistence that even talking about ten in a row is a no-no among the inner circle of Celtic’s first team.

Just because he doesn’t want to discuss the possibility of breaking records, though, doesn’t mean he’s shying away from the prospect.

Because, among his current team-mates, he sees precisely the kind of laser focus needed to win the league. Even if they do throw in the odd grubby performance along the way.

Explaining the vow of silence on supporters’ favourite subject, Brown said: ‘We talk about nine in a row — because we’ve done that. We talk about Livingston. Because that was last weekend.

‘But do we talk about ten? No. For us, it’s doing the same as we’ve always done. You don’t want to get too far ahead of yourselves or carried away.

‘If you start looking at games and thinking: “We’ve got a cup semi or final here, a big game there, it’s an easy Treble...”

‘There’s no such thing as an easy Treble. Things never go to plan. It’s about taking each game individually — and that’s what makes these lads so strong.’

Some Celtic fans don’t see it, of course. Inevitably antsy about losing this chance to go one better than any other team in the history of Scotland’s top flight, they fret over dips in performance levels. Even when points aren’t dropped.

‘Yeah, I don’t think we’ve hit top gear yet,’ conceded Brown, with a nod to last midweek’s 2-1 away win over St Mirren and Saturday’s slightly scary five-goal thriller against Livingston at Celtic Park.

‘Sometimes, you have to grind these games out and just get the results. You don’t worry about the performances at the end of the season — not if you’ve won the league. It’s all about points on the board, obviously.

‘But we want to play better. We want to make sure we control games from start to finish a lot better.

‘We don’t want to be defending a 3-2 lead for the last 15 minutes every week.

‘Everyone has to understand that you won’t always be at your 100 per cent best. There are times when the level will slip.

‘The team changes, some people might get rested, but it’s just all about winning the games at the end of the day.

‘Sometimes, you just have to grind out the wins and get the results, especially away from home. ‘There are times when you are under the cosh a bit but that’s when you need to be focused and well-drilled in your formation. ‘You need to be at it defensively and in attack — but that’s what the manager thinks of us. He demands those high standards. ‘The biggest factor in our success has been that winning mentality and never-say-die attitude. ‘It’s not always been plain sailing. You are going to get hard games and tough periods. ‘There will be defeats here and there but it’s about how you bounce back in the next game. You can’t worry too much about one result. ‘We don’t worry about anyone else. We aim to get success here every year and push the boundaries all the time, whether it’s pushing current players or bringing in others.

‘The manager has brought in a lot of players and there have been changes in the team and formation.

‘So it’s been great that we have been able to keep winning matches at the same time.’

Celtic were put behind the eight-ball when Boli Bolingoli’s Covid-breaking antics forced the defending champions to sit on the sidelines while old rivals Rangers established a lead at the top of the Premiership.

Since being allowed out of quarantine, they’ve won all five league matches.

‘Yeah, we’re delighted to be back up there,’ said Brown, braced for more disruption to the season as the real world intrudes on the sporting bubble.

‘There was nothing we could do about the two games we missed as a team.

‘I think there is a lot of pressure on us all the time. People just expect us to win every game.

‘We definitely have to show the same desire in every game, try to win every game and put in good performances.

‘There might be some stopstarts along the way — but we have to deal with that.

‘I think everyone’s going to have to deal with it. It’s a difficult situation for everyone, not just us playing football.’

Brown is able to add a degree of perspective to Celtic’s current situation, of course, by dint of his long service.

There’s nothing the 35-year-old, who insists he won’t be asking head coach Lennon for a rest any time soon, hasn’t seen.

And he genuinely seems impressed with the quality not just of a potential starting XI, but the entire Celtic squad.

‘Having strength in depth is a positive and the manager has signed very well this summer,’ said the skipper.

‘If you look at the midfield, it’s probably as strong as it has been in my time at the club. There is so much competition.’

That’s going to be needed if Celtic are to compete on all fronts this year, with Thursday night’s European clash in Latvia — and all the attendant travel issues that causes — followed by the visit of high-flying Hibernian on Sunday.

The Europa League is not where anyone at Celtic wants to be, of course. Having blown their shot at the Champions League, though, Brown insists they shouldn’t be prioritising the league over a chance to impress in continental competition.

‘The Champions League wasn’t to be for us this year — but we had a great run in the Europa last year,’ he said.

‘Here’s hoping we can get another good group and get out of it again. But the main thing is getting in to the groups in the first place.

‘We want to be in Europe. We have a huge game on Thursday we need to win. If we get through, we have another one to deal with — but we want to be there.

‘The disappointment of the Champions League takes time to shake off, definitely.

‘But you can’t let it get into your mind. It was a few weeks ago now and we have a long season ahead of us.

‘We are all devastated not to do it. But the Europa League is the main thing for us now as a club.’