McGREGOR: WRITE OFF BROWN AT YOUR PERIL

TO omit your captain for a game or two could easily be construed as squad rotation. Were that to roll into a Scottish Cup final, though, it would point towards a changing of the guard.

Now 35, Scott Brown’s only crime is being unable to make time stand still.

Some 13 years t he Celtic skipper’s junior, Ismaila Soro’s own time in green and white is assuredly coming.

The question on the lips of the club’s fans is if it will dawn at Hampden tomorrow.

Callum McGregor isn’t oblivious to the current frenzy of speculation surrounding Brown’s place in the side. Nor is he in denial to the fact that no one is immune to the ageing process.

The evidence of his own eyes, though, tells him that Brown isn’t yet living off his past reputation.

Irrespective of how tomorrow’s game pans out, he anticipates a page or two yet being etched in a career that’s already spanned volumes.

‘Broony is a living legend at the club,’ said McGregor. ‘ To have such a successful career at a huge club like this tells you just how good a player he is, how good a captain he is, his mentality to go every day and set the standard for the group.

‘He is really second to none in that sense. When he plays in the team, he has this aura about him.

‘He carries the team, he carries the responsibility. When he is on the pitch, he has this aura. He has obviously perfected that over a number of years.

‘He is a huge player for us and will continue to be a huge player for us.’

McGregor speaks with a certainty that goes beyond the age- old ritual of one team-mate patting another on the back.

He finds the flak that’s flown the way of the skipper of late bemusing. He contends that the side stalled collectively — not as a consequence of one component failing.

‘It’s dead easy when you are on the outside looking in,’ he added. ‘You can see he didn’t play for two games and Celtic won two games but you can’t say it’s his fault.

‘There was actually a lot different in performance levels and the team in general. I think it is a wee bit disrespectful when people are saying things like that when you look at what he has actually done at this club.

‘He has had a hugely successful career and a few weeks ago in the semi-final (against Aberdeen) he was arguably the best player on the pitch. He is very much still in form.’

McGregor (right) was hearing suggestions that his fellow midfielder’s best days were behind him not long after he broke into the team under Ronny Deila.

He’s still awaiting to see tangible evidence.

‘You write him off at your peril,’ said the midfielder. ‘ He has that mentality. You don’t play at this club for 13 years, have such a good career and be a winner so many times i f you don’t have that mentality. It’s not possible.

‘The amount of times he’s come back to prove people wrong speaks for itself.

‘Every time someone does say something about him, he comes back and plays even better.’

One day, though, it stands to reason Brown will be unable to put mind over matter.

While his retirement would leave a colossal void in the side, there are at least now encouraging signs of continuity.

Although still to have a prolonged run in the side, both Soro and the more offensively minded David Turnbull have lately captured the imagination.

‘ Having this amount of good players playing well is a good thing for Celtic,’ said McGregor.

‘As long as that continues t hen we’ll have success at this club.

‘Soro has come in and done great. He looks to have huge potential. I’m sure he’ll go onto fulfil that if he keeps working hard, keeps his feet on the ground and does all the right things. ‘David has come in and been a revelation. He’s got good quality on the ball, makes forward passes and can shoot and score. ‘It’s a call for the manager. I’m sure whoever plays on Sunday will be 100-per-cent ready to go.’ If the manager’s decision is to play the men in form, McGregor would harbour no fears. ‘ Yes, of course,’ he added. ‘They’ve come in and done great. They’ve shown real quality. ‘They are at this club for a reason — because they are good players. ‘And what you’ve seen in the last few games is that you can trust them in big games as well.’ This is about as big as it gets. Not just a Scottish Cup final but potentially a game which would wrap up a fourth successive Treble. It’s an achievement that will almost certainly never be bettered. Some might downplay t he history which hangs in the air in such moments. McGregor embraces it. ‘The way you train every day, live your life and approach every match like a final — that breeds a winning mentality,’ he explained. ‘But when you know it’ s possibly a quadruple Treble and to be speaking about something like that and the enormity of it, then you do look forward. ‘You want to be a winner and you want to achieve it so that, when you do come off the pitch, you want to be standing with that medal on you. ‘I think there’s an argument for both approaches. ‘Personally, I like to embrace it and meet the challenge head on.’

The skipper is a huge player for this club and he will continue to be