Boyd warns of rivals’ vendetta against Brown

32-year-old. Brown was the victim of horrific challenges recently from Ross County’s Andrew Davies and Hearts’ Steven Naismith.

But Boyd has warned that all attempts to intimidate the midfielder will fail.

He said: “Scott is the most targeted man in Britain. It looks like there’s a vendetta against him with some of the tackles going in.

“Some players go out with that intention (of getting at Brown). But if it’s about trying to intimidate him it’s not going to happen. He’s not easily wound up and is able to handle himself.”

Boyd saw it all in his 14 years at Parkhead and led Celtic to the league title in 1998 that stopped Rangers’ 10-in-a-row bid.

But he winced watching Naismith’s foul on Brown that earned him a twomatch retrospective ban.

And he says Scott isn’t the only Celt being targeted.

Boyd said: “The Hearts challenge was nasty and thankfully it just caught the fleshy part of Scott’s leg.

“Scott’s the kind of guy you love if he’s in your team. But opposition players certainly don’t . Kieran Tierney has probably been up there as well this season.

“Some of it is over the top like Ryan Bowman’s high challenge in the Motherwell game back in February.”

Last night Brown told his opponents to keep on hating him – because it only drives him on to do better.

He said: “I enjoy opposition fans hating me.

“It pushes me on to do better, to go and win a battle in the middle of the park, to dominate somebody I’m playing against. ”

But despite feeling that Brown is being harshly treated, Boyd reckons if Motherwell want to stop Celtic completing a double Treble in the Scottish Cup Final next weekend, they’ll need to ruffle the feathers of Brendan Rodgers’ men.

Boyd, who lifted the Cup for the Steelmen in 1991, said: “Well need to get in the faces of Celtic in the Cup Final – but legally. Not like some of the challenges we’ve seen on Scott recently.”

Boyd was speaking at an event sponsored by William Hill, proud sponsors of the Scottish Cup.