HUNGER GAME
Brown raring to go after London meal with Rodgers
DINNER with Brendan Rodgers has stirred Scott Brown’s appetite for a new season at Celtic. The Parkhead boss invited his captain for a meal at his London home shortly after taking office.
And Brown admits to some excitement over a change of menu at Celtic following the high-profile capture of the Northern Irishman.
Currently recuperating from tendonitis in his hamstrings, the Scotland captain shares the enthusiasm of supporters for what lies ahead under the former Liverpool manager, telling Celtic TV: ‘It was a great meal. We sat down and chatted for a good couple of hours about the past and the future, and what we’re looking to do, and he was spot-on with everything.
‘It’s going to be exciting times. His ideas and philosophy are great and it’s going to help me and a lot of the lads in the changing room. I’m looking forward to it.
‘He spoke about a lot of things, such as responsibilities, talking on and off the park, bringing the lads as close together as possible, making sure we have a good team morale and that we work hard on the park.
‘The main thing is to get as fit as soon as possible for the Champions League qualifiers. We need to try to get through them to reach the group stage as that is where this club deserves to be and, hopefully, we will be there this season.’
Under Ronny Deila, Celtic’s tactics were often rigid and inflexible, the Norwegian persevering with a 4-2-3-1 formation even when the personnel did not necessarily fit.
Anthony Stokes and Colin Kazim-Richards have now left the club, while Stefan Scepovic is on the verge of a return to Spanish football with Sporting Gijon. Carlton Cole is also expected to leave as Rodgers targets strike reinforcements and the anticipated return to two up front.
‘It’s going to be good for us because he’s going to chop and change formations,’ added Brown.
‘We’re not just going to be onedimensional, so that will be something to keep everyone on their toes.’
Celtic supporters remain excited about the arrival of Rodgers. Around 13,000 turned up for his Parkhead unveiling.
Images of queues snaking around the block at the Parkhead ticket office vindicate a belief that throwing a huge salary at Rodgers could be an investment rather than a cost.
Closed for long enough, the SPFL Premiership champions have had little cause to open the upper tier of the Lisbon Lions Stand in recent seasons. That shows signs now of changing.
‘It’s a huge name for everyone.’ said Brown. ‘Everyone will learn a lot from him and that’s what we wanted.
‘Peter (Lawwell, chief executive) and the club have done really well to get him on board. He’s managed huge clubs and almost won the league with Liverpool a couple of seasons back.
‘To have 13,000 fans come to the stadium to see him is something some clubs don’t even get on matchdays and it shows how well-respected he is by the Celtic fans.’
Brown, meanwhile, insists he will be restored to full fitness for the return to pre-season training on June 20.
Forced to curtail his season three games from the end, which also saw him miss Scotland’s end-of-season friendlies against Italy and France, the 30-year-old admitted: ‘It was both my hamstrings and I also got bone bruising against Hearts in my final game, so I was falling to bits towards the end of the season.
‘The rest is always good and it’s the longest I’ve had since coming to Celtic. It was definitely needed.
‘I have had a few days off, which were good, and I have just been trying to get over my injuries and making sure they are OK for the start of pre-season. I started back running the other day there and I feel OK so, hopefully, I can kick on now.’
Slovenian title-winners Olimpic Ljubljana, meanwhile, have backed out of an arrangement to host Celtic in Slovenia on July 6 because of the possibility the sides could meet in a Champions League qualifier.
Director Borut Arlic told the club website: ‘It is true there have been discussions on the arranging of a game but because we could draw them in the qualifiers for the Champions League, a preparation match with this opponent would not be advisable.’