HOOPS SKIPPER A MARKED MAN
TOM BOYD believes Celtic skipper Scott Brown is British football’s most marked man.
He says the Parkhead star is now being targeted in the Scottish Premiership, after recent challenges on Brown from Ross County’s Andrew Davies and Hearts’ Steven Naismith.
Boyd (right) is adamant that players of opposition clubs are running a vendetta against the 32-year-old.
But he’s warned teams that if they’re trying to intimidate the Celtic captain, it’s a waste of time.
The former Celtic defender said: “Scott is the most targeted man in Britain, in terms of challenges like that.
“Kieran Tierney has probably been up there as well this season. Some of it has been over the edge and they’ve got away with it. I think of Ryan Bowman’s on Kieran and there has been others.
“You’d hope that players would get protection from referees to be able to deal with that.
“Some players have that intention (of getting at Brown) going out there. Why? You’d need to ask them.
“The Hearts one was a nasty one. Thankfully it just caught the fleshy part of his leg. “That’s something you can’t condone. “But I know it’s part of the philosophy. It’s strange that Craig Levein talked about Scotland players needing protected from Scott Brown. “But it looks like there’s a vendetta against him now with some of the tackles going in.
“Scott’s the kind of guy you love if he’s in your team. But some of the opposition players certainly don’t.
“Is it a compliment to him? Not when you’re getting hit so many times.
“Scott is competitive and combative as well. He likes to get stuck in.
“But if it’s about trying to intimidate him, that’s not going to happen. He’s not as easily wound up now. You can’t do it and he knows how to handle himself.”