Scared Griff
Broony: I know how good Leigh is and what he can do.. I just hope he starts doing it next weekend!
SCOTT BROWN used to give Leigh Griffiths a lift to Lennoxtown and he’s backed his old Parkhead pal to get back on the right road at Dundee.
The Aberdeen player-coach is still hoping his wee mate hits a dead end at Dens Park tonight.
Brown and Griff were long time team-mates at Celtic but have gone down different paths after taking the route out of Parkhead.
The midfielder is relishing his new dual role with the Dons while the striker is looking to get up and running in his loan spell on Tayside.
They will clash this evening and while Brown would love to see Griffiths do the damage at Dundee, he’d rather the comeback trail is delayed by another week.
Brown said: “Leigh Griffiths? I’ve never heard of him! Nah, everyone knows how good a player Griff is.
“He’ll want to show everyone as well.
“We know how good his finishing is. His left foot is an absolute wand.
“It’s hard for him. He’s not had a lot of game time at Celtic and he’s gone to Dundee to show everyone he can still play at the top level, which everyone believes he can.
“He goes and gets injured against Rangers and they have probably missed him.
“I’ve heard he’s back in training so I’ll be looking for his name on the teamsheet, that’s for sure. He’s got a good relationship with everyone at Dundee, especially James McPake. I think at the time it was between a couple of clubs and I could see why he went to Dundee.
“He’s had good managers and he’s a top player. He just needs to focus and get back to doing what he does best.
“Hopefully it’s not this weekend because we need to play well and get points on the board.
“We will have a big crowd at Dens, it’s a great pitch there and we want to make sure we put in a good performance to get a result.”
Brown has his own concerns at Pittodrie with Stephen Glass under pressure on the back of nine games without a win. The Red Army are already restless but the skipper knows how to cope with high demands and with the critics.
Brown said: “I think being written off brings out the best in everyone.
“When people say you shouldn’t be here or you’re not good enough, that’s when you come together.
“You work even harder. You need that mental strength and belief, that willingness to make a tackle for your mate if he is out of position.
“That’s what we need to make sure we do here. We need to do that horrible part of the game, especially at Dundee as they have some good, honest players. “We need to tick all the boxes by working hard, getting the ball down and sticking it in the net. “It’s a huge month for us, we understand that. “We need to win games and the first one is the one that will take the pressure off. Once we win one, we will get the confidence and belief to go on a run. When we win a game I think we can go two, three, four, five games. “But we need to start being hard to beat and sometimes if you need to nick a 1-0, hold out to get a result, that’s what you need to do.” Brown admitted dealing with a horror run is a new ball game when you are a coach as well as a player. He said: “As a player you’d probably sit back, be disappointed and think about your own performance. “Now, you’re watching the videos back, understanding it and you see where the mistakes are. It’s hard to switch off but I enjoy doing what I do. I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t think I could do both jobs. “I’m up here on my own so I don’t have to keep looking at my watch to see when I go home. “It’s about putting in as many hours as I can to make sure we get the best out of the lads.”
Once we win one game we will get the confidence to go on a real run of wins BROWN SAYS IT’S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM AT THE DONS