THERE’S NO SPLIT IN CELTIC DRESSING ROOM, DECLARES PARKHEAD SKIPPER:
Brown dismisses claims of squad disharmony
SCOTT BROWN didn’t name names when he took aim at Celtic’s critics yesterday. Only if you’d spent the past month domiciled in another galaxy, however, would you not have guessed who, specifically, was on his mind.
Offered the chance to backtrack on his assertion that there is a split in the Parkhead camp this week, Kris Boyd didn’t so much reach for the red pen as grab the highlighter marker. Despite admitting to having not spoken to anyone directly within the squad, the Kilmarnock striker claimed his conclusion had been reached purely on the basis of watching Celtic’s performances.
In one sense, the veteran is on solid ground here. Like the manager who has allegedly lost the dressing room, there is no way of conclusively proving the matter one way or the other.
Which is not to say that his outspoken remarks have gone unnoticed. Brendan Rodgers responded to his initial accusation by suggesting he might be better served concentrating on winning back his place in Steve Clarke’s team.
Brown, for his part, opted not to dignify his comments with a name-check, preferring to bracket them with the rest of the background noise. Suffice to say, however, that the Celtic skipper has noted what Boyd has had to say, has completely refuted it and has now stored it for safe keeping.
‘There are a load of pundits who just want to say something, but that’s just people keeping themselves in a job,’ said the 33-year-old.
‘We stick together and we have a great bunch of lads. We do our talking on the field.
‘I don’t read it, so it doesn’t bother me. I was told about it. People can have their own opinion and can say what they want but they don’t know what happens daily in the dressing room.
‘We play with a smile on our faces as we have done under this manager. We’ll continue to do it.’
Not even Brown would claim that Lennoxtown this season has been quite as harmonious as in the past two years. Two league defeats, elimination from the Champions League and disquiet surrounding Moussa Dembele and Dedryck Boyata have seen to that.
Not for a second, however, has the captain felt that trying times were ever in danger of lurching into a crisis.
‘My role has never changed and there’s no need to bring everyone together,’ he said. ‘There’s no big issue there. We’ve all been fine. People come and go. That’s part and parcel of football.
‘Moussa left but he had been great for us over the past two seasons. The way he plays meant it was sad to see him leave.
‘Dedo stayed and he has shown what a quality player he can be. That’s why he did so well at the World Cup.
‘We’ve all been fine. Myself and the boss spoke when there was talk of Dedo trying to get out and it was all fine.
‘People want to make a big issue and it happened when perhaps we didn’t get the right results. But we wanted to get to the Champions League and people came at us.
‘We’re in the Europa League and we’ve picked up in the league and we will kick on.’
Boyd’s theory of widespread discontent was done no favours as Celtic recorded the biggest win of Rodgers’ tenure at Perth last Sunday.
‘I think that performance was outstanding,’ said Brown, currently recovering from injury. ‘I went to the game and enjoyed it. I liked the way we moved the ball.
‘What we have been working on is coming together slowly with everyone working together. It was exceptional.’
Last Sunday was more like the Celtic of old. For all the world, it felt like a turning point.
‘Definitely,’ replied Brown. ‘There have been a lot of people trying to put us down but we have a great dressing room and we have a great manager and board. We’re all together no matter what happens.
‘The results aren’t always going to go your own way. We’ve had two great seasons and sometimes you will have ups and downs.
‘We’ll be flying out the blocks again and I think the last performance shows how committed we all are.’
Rodgers dismissed the prospect of him becoming the next manager of Aston Villa after the 6-0 win in Perth but it’s a fact of life that clubs of that ilk will continue to admire the quality of his work.
A difficult summer now behind them, Brown sincerely hopes the traditional sacking month of October doesn’t lead to more unwanted interruptions.
‘He is a top-class manager,’ said Brown. ‘There is always going to be someone who wants him. He has shown his love for the club over the last two-and-a-half years.
‘You never know what is going to happen but he is here just now and we have to respect that. It has been good for us to work with a top-quality manager and long may it continue.’
CELTIC have teamed up with Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers of Edinburgh to design a new tartan to celebrate their 130th anniversary.