CHAMPIONS WILL BE MOTORING, SAYS CELTIC CAPTAIN SCOTT BROWN –
Celtic have played 41 games already this season but Scott Brown says their strict fitness regime will ensure the champions keep
TALKING about his GPS stats and heartrate comparisons, the hi-tech approach to training that helps him stay fitter than ever, it’s impossible not to be struck by the contrast between Scott Brown, seasoned professional, and the ball of teenage energy who made his name by rampaging all over the park in a Hibs jersey.
The Celtic and Scotland captain certainly isn’t slow to note how his professional life has changed, roaring with laughter as he said: ‘When I started out? I was 17 with a red mohawk. I didn’t listen to f*** all!’
Older and definitely wiser, even branching out into coaching himself, the midfielder remains as combative as ever once the whistle blows. But it takes more than just heart and fighting spirit for a 31-year-old with his injury record to play in 32 competitive fixtures — his running total for the season to date — before Christmas is even upon us.
Explaining just how vastly his working day has improved, Brown said: ‘You just ran and ran back then. We were at Hibs, we were training on council fields, wherever we could.
‘We got told in the morning, given half an hour’s notice of where we were meant to be for training that day. The coaching staff had to quickly leave, go and set up the cones, check the pitch and all that. There was no GPS, no heart-rate monitors.
‘We wore them here last year — but we didn’t do the comparison we did now, looking at it from game to game. So now everything is compared.
‘We’ve got ProZone all over the stadium, so we know how many touches you’ve taken, how many tackles, how many aerial battles you’ve won.
‘Everything is there in the stats. It’s become more and more Americanised as we’ve gone along.
‘But it’s good, especially for young players coming through. If you know how many touches you’ve had, how often you keep it, how many times you give it away, that shows you what you need to work on. And it’s the best way to do it — because the stats don’t lie.
‘This time of the season, it’s hard on the body. The gaffer looks at your GPS stats and makes sure you’re not battering your body.
‘He can see how far you’ve run, how well you’ve done and how you’re recovering. We wear the heart-rate monitors to make sure everything is back to normal.
‘So the gaffer knows when he can push you and when he can’t, how training needs to be, whether we need to work really hard or just take a couple of days to chill.
‘We had a day off this week, we had a light session on Thursday because we had a tough game on the Tuesday night, things like that.’
Brown has been at the heart of the Brendan Rodgers revolution, having accepted the challenge laid down by the new manager — to improve every area of his game — on arrival in the summer.
Leading by example, the skipper has been key in maintaining energy levels and morale as Celtic have tackled a staggering 41 games — including friendlies — before today’s clash at Hamilton.
‘At least we’ve got the winter break to look forward to after one last push,’ he said. ‘We have played a lot of games. Is it 41 already? That’s not a bad effort before Christmas. And I’ve managed to keep going!
‘It’s always like that — and you expect that here. We always have a lot of Champions League qualifiers and that means, by the time you get to this season, you’ve already done a lot.
‘To go to Hamilton, we’ve struggled there over the last couple of seasons and had to dig deep to get a win. We’ve managed to pull it off here and there.
‘The gaffer has seen when people have needed a rest and made the changes. To play that number of games before Christmas, it’s definitely hard on you.
‘But momentum counts for a lot, if you’re winning games — this is a great place to be when it’s like that. And I don’t think it will catch up with us at the end of the season, especially with the winter break coming up to help us.
‘I think, a lot of the time, tiredness is in the mind. Coming in here, this is a great place to be at the moment. If you get too many people moaning, sitting there saying: “Oh, this is so hard, look at what we’re doing now...”. It makes it hard to keep things going.
‘I’ve been in dressing rooms like that, aye. Everybody is different, so you probably get moaners in every dressing room. But here I think the vast majority try to stay positive and look forward.
‘Whether it’s snow, rain, sleet, whatever, we’re all up for it — and you get all of that pretty much every day up here.’
As good as Brown has been, the Scotland international — for now, final decision pending on that front — is quick to share the praise, singling out midfield team-mates Stuart Armstrong and Tom Rogic as major players in everything going right for Celtic.
‘Aye, they’re improving and I’m just standing still!’ he said with a smile. ‘I think it’s a great trio there, the three of us.
‘Stuart has unbelievable energy and Tom has incredible ability. When Tom gets the ball on the half turn, he receives it so well and moves forward.
‘To give Tom a ball when he’s on the pivot, he turns right away, his hips are moving and he’s going to play a forward pass, get you 30, 40 or 50 yards up the park. Sometimes, when he’s not there, it’s harder.
‘It’s important that we hold on to Stuart and Tom, because they are young — two quiet lads but they offer a lot on the park. We need to keep lads like that. Especially Stu, because he’s Scottish — we need as many of our own boys coming through as we can!’