Come and join the trophy fun, Brown urges Celtic target
● Captain Brown urges £3m Turnbull to take Celtic offer and start winning titles
Celtic captain Scott Brown believes David Turnbull will be in emotional turmoil as he considers his next move but has urged the Motherwell midfielder to join him at the Scottish champions.
Turnbull, Scotland’s Young Player of the Year, rejected Celtic’s contract offer last week after the club had agreed a £3 million transfer fee with Motherwell.
Celtic have since made it clear they will not be improving the personal terms for Turnbull, which they described as “magnificent”.
The 19-year-old is believed to be weighing up alternative options in England, where Sky Bet Championship side Sheffield Wednesday have a firm interest in him.
But Celtic skipper Brown hopes Turnbull follows his example by rejecting a move south of the border.
“When I left Hibs in 2007 I had options to go to England,” recalled Brown.
“I also had the option to sign for Rangers. I picked Celtic over all of them. They filled me with confidence that they wanted to build a team around me.
“I wanted to come and win trophies and play in the Champions League against the best players in the world.
“That’s why I’ve stayed here and loved every single moment of it.
“I think Turnbull would be a fantastic signing for Celtic. It would be the right club to come to for him, given how we develop players into top quality players.
“Look at myself, James Forrest, Callum Mcgregor and Kieran Tierney all coming through. We are all Scottish lads.
“We have had fantastic coaches all the way through youth level and now we have coaches who have learned under great managers and we have got a great manager as well.
“It would be a great place for David to come, learn, play in front of 60,000 fans, win trophies and play in the Champions League. I don’t think there is a better option than to come to Celtic.
“Our fans would take to anyone who does really well at the club with the jersey on. You have to remember David is only 19 years old, his head and his emotions will be all over the place. You have to give him that bit of leeway. There is still time for him to come here and everyone in that changing room would welcome him.
“I remember when Hibs accepted the bid for me, my head was all over the place.
“I didn’t know what to do and lots of people are telling you different things.
“It’s hard and you have to feel for the kid. But for me, it would be great for him to come here to play for a club which is going places.”
Since he joined Celtic back in 2007, Scott Brown has seen the landscape of Champions League qualification change radically. The heady days of an automatic place in the group stage for Scotland’s champions, at a time when the country’s coefficient ranking was still high enough to earn such a reward, are becoming an ever distant memory.
Celtic now have to negotiate four qualifying rounds if they want to take their place among Europe’s elite. They will discover their first opponents today when the draw takes place at Uefa HQ in Nyon.
One of the seeded sides, Celtic are likely to face a trip to eastern Europe after Uefa announced the groupings for the draw. Of the five possible opponents for Celtic, four are from eastern Europe – Sarajevo (Bosnia), Sutjeska (Montenegro), Partizani (Albania) and Saburtalo (Georgia). The other side Celtic could face are
Maltese champions Valletta. Regardless of who they are paired with, Brown knows Neil Lennon’s side cannot take anything for granted as they prepare for their now familiarly early return to competitive action with the first leg of their opening tie on 9 or 10 July.
“We’ve been everywhere over the last few years ,” reflected Brown .“at this stage of the competition, it doesn’t really matter.
“It would be great to have somewhere more local but I don’t think that will happen.
“For me, you always have to think about that game in Gibraltar three years ago when Lincoln Red Imps beat us to know that even the first round can be awkward. Everyone thought we would go over there, win 6-0 – nice and easy. But we played in 35 degree heat on possibly the worst pitch I’ve ever played on and lost our first game under Brendan Rodgers.
“No-one that day, even in our wildest dreams, would have thought we would go on to stay unbeaten domestically for the rest of the season.
“So, you always have to make sure you respect the opponent and do your background on them. It’s difficult to have these games so soon, especially for new players coming to the club. They come in and are like ‘two or three weeks’ holiday? We should be getting eight’.
“That’s Scottish football now because our seeding level isn’t as good as it used to be. We’ve got to deal with the four qualifying rounds until Uefa change their mind.
“When I first signed for Celtic, we went straight into the group stages in one of my first seasons. We didn’t always have qualifiers. But then there was always at least a couple of qualifiers, then three and gradually it’s got up to four games to get there. Maybe it’s me – maybe they don’t want me in the Champions League!”
Brown believes the appointment of Lennon as permanent manager is a boost to their Champions League hopes, given his experiences first time around which included leading celtic to the last 16 in 2013.
“Yeah, he knows what it’s all about,” added Brown. “The play-off round tie against Karagandy six years ago comes to mind for me. I remember we lost 2-0 in the first leg away from home and the manager then dropped Virgil van Dijk for the second leg which we won 3-0. He can make big decisions.
“He has been phenomenal since he came back to the club. He had two trophies to
win and won them both. He got the job done and everyone in the changing room was delighted for him. The fans know his passion and love for the club.
“It’s great for me as well. I know him. I trust him with my life, especially going into big games where you have to battle.
“Sometimes a new manager comes in with totally fresh ideas and wants to change everything in two-and-a-half weeks.
“We’re going away to Austria next week. We’ll play three friendlies, then come back straight into Champions League qualifiers.
“There’s not too much time to change too much. He knows what he needs to do – who he wants to bring in – and I’m sure he’ll do that in time He’ll make sure he’ll get the right players and not to dive in at the deep end.
“To be fair, he’s had a great eye for players in the past and I’m sure he’ll do the same again.”
“He [Neil Lennon] has been phenomenal since he came back to the club. He had two trophies to win and won them both. He got the job done and everyone in the changing room was delighted for him... It’s great for me as well. I know
him. I trust him with my life, especially going into big games where you have to
battle” SCOTT BROWN