You watch Champions League on TV and think ...that’s where I want to play
BROWN’S VOW TO MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME
ABSENCE makes the heart grow fonder. Celtic skipper Scott Brown has admitted that some of the club’s most momentous nights in their recent European history have passed him by, so trained have his sights been on the task on hand.
Sitting out of the Champions League last season hammered home to the Celtic midfielder just how impressive some of the club’s results have been in the prestigious tournament.
Watching the Champions League nights unfold on TV may have made for painful viewing at times, but it also allowed the 29-year-old to appreciate the magnitude of the occasion when Celtic get the chance to rub shoulders with Europe’s elite.
In the offices of Celtic’s training base at Lennoxtown, Ronny Deila began work weeks ago on plotting a way back into Europe’s premier competition.
Brown will play a significant part in attempting to steer the club towards the lucrative group stage and he believes that a season out of the tournament has made him all the hungrier to get back there this term.
“It is special,” said Brown. “There have been times when we have been involved in really big occasions and big games and I feel as though it has actually gone over my head.
“You are so focused on the game, on what your job is on the pitch and the result you are trying to get that sometimes it just passes you by in a flash.
“Last season we had a chance to think about that when we didn’t make it.
“We had the Europa League which I think we learned a lot from, but there isn’t a footballer anywhere who doesn’t want to test themselves in the Champions League.
“It is very hard to explain what those nights are like. We are spoiled at Celtic because we have so many big games, but those nights are something else.
“It is hard to appreciate them at the time because there is so much going on, but when you look back you can see just how massive they are and how important they are for the club.
“You watch the games on TV and you think, ‘yeah, that’s where I want to be.’
“We think we deserve to be in that kind of company. We have showed in the past with some of the results we have achieved that we can hold our own.”
And Brown has warned that Celtic need to be mentally prepared for the challenge of getting through into the group stages.
“The qualifiers can be tough because of when they come come, we all know that,” he said. “We need to make sure our heads are as right as our bodies.
“But right now we’re fit and we’re strong and we feel good. Hopefully the manager will suc- ceed in bringing in another one or two players but right now I think we feel as though we could go out and play those games just now.”
Brown shares a car journey to work every day from the East coast of the country through to Lennoxtown with Leigh Griffiths. And Brown reckons the striker is the sharpest forward he has played with at Celtic.
Deila will look to bring in another forward this summer, one whose physical attributes are something Celtic can utilise,
Brown, though, is satisfied that if Griffiths is trusted with the main striker’s role he will offer goals – and plenty of them.
“He is a bit different from the other strikers that we have had here, but I would say that he is the sharpest I have ever seen in the box,” said Brown.
“Nine times out of 10 if the ball breaks to him in the box I would fancy him to score.
“He believes in himself which is huge. As soon as he gets one chance he can put it away.
“We know what he can do. We see it in games, we see it in training.
“He had a lot to take on board earlier in the season, but you can see just how well he has adapted.
I drive him into training and I know how determined he is to keep his place.
“If he comes back here fit and sharp and ready to pick up where he left off then I think we can look forward to a really cracking season from him.”
Brown will team up with Griffiths on Scotland duty this week, while Charlie Mulgrew, James Forrest and Craig Gordon will also meet up with Gordon Strachan’s squad.
And Brown is keen to see out the season on a high. He said: “I’m really looking forward to it.
“I would always far rather play than sit out. So the games are good for me.
“Hopefully we can get the right result against Ireland because it would leave us in a really strong position.”