Lennon still surprised by Brown, his man for all seasons
NEIL LENNON once said there was nothing Scott Brown could do that would surprise him.
But he was wrong. As are all those who wrote off Celtic’s captain, for what felt like the millionth time, after what admittedly was a poor performance in the Champions League home defeat to Cluj. For the purposes of accuracy, it was really only the second half when it all went wrong.
So, that was him done. Again. There is a section of the Celtic support who act as if they want Brown’s legs to go. In fact, there is quite a bit of mileage in them yet.
Ibrox was the 34-year-old’s 671st club match. Add on 55 senior caps, 13 with Scotland youth teams and then the best part of 100 friendlies. That is a lot of football.
However, he isn’t finished. Just ask Rangers.
Even Lennon couldn’t believe his eyes in the derby when late in the second half, the oldest outfield player produced a burst of speed and took the ball 50 yards from his own half, past a couple of blue shirts, before being stopped by a tackle.
The Celtic manager said: “It is so dangerous to write off Broony. He’s got that personality. There was a time when he went on a run at Ibrox and it looked like Scott Brown at 21. It was awesome, absolutely awesome. He was like a 400m runner.
“He started in his own half and it’s fantastic that at 34 he still has that in his locker. He ran 40, 50 yards in the 70-something minute. I thought he was superb in the first half.
“Scott has the desire and fire but it’s controlled. His reading of the game, his tackling, which is still a fine art and I would know a bit about that, is perfect. He was so impressive.”
Brown won’t go on forever. His best days are behind him. But that is not to say this club legend can’t affect games in a dominating manner. It might be that he is rested, not that the man likes to miss games, and the international break would have done him good.
The desire remains the same. His brain as sharp as ever. If the body holds up, then the bold Broony isn’t going anywhere.
Lennon said: “It’s ageism. He’s a man for all seasons, I think. When he’s right – and in the main he’s always right – he’s still a hell of a player. It’s difficult to play without him at times but that Sunday at Ibrox was one of his finest games that I’ve seen from him, and I’ve been here for a long, long time.
“He’s just got that natural cardiovascular [endurance]. He’s blessed with that, really. When you see him running in training behind the scenes, he’s still at the forefront of it all, and very powerful.
“He had a ligament injury in the toe, and that’s curtailed him a little bit in some of the games, where he was getting injected, and that needs to settle eventually. But looking at him on Sunday, he looked back to his very, very best. It was like looking at him in his mid-20s.”
Brown was bought in 2007 by Gordon Strachan to replace Lennon. The now manager was a different player from the one that shipped up at Celtic Park 12 years ago but the Brown of 2019 reminds supporters of the Northern Irishman’s style of play.
Lennon recalled: “I was done, 36, and he was a different type of player to me then. Obviously, he’s evolved his game to be that No.6 now, where he reads the game and he still covers the ground, tackles, and recycles the ball brilliantly.
“When you really need him, he’s there and that’s really important. He’s a big-game player.”
There was a rumour doing the rounds on social media that manager and skipper had fallen out. All nonsense. The two have always been close, not quite peas in a pod, but they still read more or less from the same hymn sheet.
Lennon said: “I love him and, you know, we have a great relationship; a very strong bond with a huge amount of respect and it goes back a long, long way. And I trust him, and he trusts me. It would take a lot for anything to come between that.”
Brown will lead his team out at Hamilton just before noon on Saturday afternoon and then the following Thursday, Celtic will be in France to take on Rennes.
A successful Europa League campaign is a must for Celtic. Lennon, Brown and the rest could do with finishing in the top two of their group and at least a point from this first group game would come in handy.
Lennon said: “Big Christopher Jullien has played against them a couple of times and we played against them in a friendly this summer – although we can’t read too much into that.”
Just like nobody should read anything into a poor 45 minutes by Brown.
It is so dangerous to write off Broony. There wasatimewhenhewent on a run at Ibrox and it looked like Scott Brown at 21. It was awesome