Jubilant skipper Brown set for crunch talks with stand-in Scotland boss
Scott Brown led Celtic to another cup final and will now decide his international future.
The midfielder is set to have crunch talks with interim Scotland boss Malky Mackay within the next few days.
Brown maintains he has already decided whether or not to retire for a second time, but will listen to what Mackay has to say.
It will be the first big job for the SFA’s Performance Director since Gordon Strachan’s departure as national manager.
He will shortly be picking a squad for the friendly against Holland at Pittodrie next month, and persuading Brown to carry on playing would be a feather in his cap.
Brown said: “We will see what happens. I am going to speak to Malky in the next couple of days and see how it goes.
“I have spoken to the manager and he spoke to Malky. I am now going to have a chat.”
The 32-year-old admitted he was saddened by the decision to let Strachan leave his post.
He went on: “I was very disappointed to see Gordon go.
“If any manager comes in and gets 14 points out of 18, they could get the sack from Scotland these days.
“It’s a hard one to take. Gordon has been great with me throughout my career and will continue to be.
“I will keep in contact and I’m just sad to see him go.
“Did the SFA speak to me before the decision? No. I didn’t expect them to.”
Beating Hibs to reach the Betfred Cup Final means Celtic have now racked up 60 domestic games without a defeat.
The midweek game against Aberdeen looks like being a big challenge to keep the run going, but Brown says the record isn’t something on the player’s minds.
He added: “It’s not just that record that is keeping us going – it’s the manager’s high demands and the pressure the boys are putting on each other.
“There is competition for places and you see people coming off the bench, scoring goals and keeping the ball.
“It’s great to have that in the squad. The gaffer can make a couple of changes and freshen things up.
“It is a great record but we have a manager who believes in us and we believe in him.
“It’s only people on the outside who are putting pressure on us about the unbeaten run. “We are relaxed and enjoying the football.” Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon was delighted to see Moussa Dembele come off the bench and grab two goals. He reckons there is a place for both Dembele and Leigh Griffiths in the Hoops’ line-up.
He said: “Moussa has been looking a lot sharper in the last few weeks.
“You could see he was getting ready to come back in and be the top player we know he is.
“When we saw him coming off the bench we knew he’d be a good option for us with his link-up and hold-up play.
“We know when he gets those kind of chances he sticks them away.
“It’s a massive plus for us having him back to form.
“Leigh did a lot of hard work for the team, closing them down and tiring out defenders.
“He’s got a job to do and he did that for an hour.
“It was the same against Bayern Munich and he did it again for another hour. It’s hard work.
“They can also play together at times. Normally it’s one or the other, but the manager has put them together in different games.
“They are both going to get time on the pitch and they’ll both score goals – that’s what they are both about.”
Mikael Lustig again showed that he has an eye for goal by bagging a brace.
He celebrated with a strange routine that involved impersonating a keyboard player.
This was inspired by some interaction with fans on the internet, but the Swede’s two goals were certainly key to a great start for the champions.
He also scored for his country during this month’s 8-0 thrashing of Luxembourg.
He said: “It is often like that. You can go 20 or 30 games without a goal and suddenly you are there at the right time. “It was nice to play the keyboard again! “It wasn’t the best finishing. “We had a corner for me second. I saw early I was going to get a touch on it.
“It was the same as the first goal, I didn’t hit the ball cleanly but that is probably why they have both gone in.”