Skipper on a mission to finish career at Parkhead

first class.’ Brown rejected offers from Rangers and England to sign for Celtic a decade ago — and insisted he never had any cause to regret turning his back on the English Premier League. ‘I don’t need to prove anything to anybody,’ he said. ‘People can judge me if they want, but I’m not going to prove I need to be in England. ‘I play for Scotland, I captain my country and the only thing I want to do is lead my country to a World Cup and win trophies for Celtic. ‘The ten years don’t really mean too much. It’s more about me playing for Celtic as long as I can. ‘I think once I retire, I’ll probably think about it a lot more. ‘I just need to try to enjoy playing football for as long as I possibly can, because you never know when your career is going to be over. ‘I’ve got a year left at Celtic, so I’ve got to enjoy the rest of this season and next and you never know where I’ll go from there.’ Speaking at a Celebrate 67 event to promote the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions, Brown remained coy over his involvement in next month’s World Cup qualifier with England. The Hampden clash on June 10 falls just two weeks before Celtic fly to Austria to prepare for vital Champions League qualifiers in mid-July. ‘Am I playing? I’ll speak to Gordon (Strachan) and see what happens in the next few days,’ said Brown. ‘Will I get a holiday? That’s the problem. I have sat down with the gaffer and looked at a couple of situations. We will see how it goes.’ Certain to be named in Strachan’s squad after Brendan Rodgers granted his blessing, Brown added: ‘I want to play as many games as I can. The break is the biggest problem, but I am going to give it my best shot.’