THE NEXT CHAPTER

As ever-maturing Brown looks to his future in the game and a coaching role, the Celtic skipper knows his nous will overtake physicality

WHEN the occasion demands, Scott Brown is still eminently capable of getting in an opponent’s face or delivering a sharp rebuke to a teammate. Yet, as the Celtic captain approaches his 30th birthday, there is a growing contemplative side to his character.

This maturity has manifested itself not only in a more considered playing style for club and country but also his prodigious bid to become a coach.

Brown recently penned a new contract with Celtic and has no intention of hanging up his boots any time soon. But, just as he has had to reform his game from the high-energy approach that brought him praise and notoriety as a kid at Hibs, he realises he needs to look for a vocation to sustain his attention when he is no longer capable of performing at the top level.

The prospect of Brown the manager may be a long way off but he has been taking a hands-on role with Stevie Frail’s Under-20 squad at Lennoxtown and has even been spotted in the dugout during a handful of SPFL Development League fixtures.

He is enjoying the responsibility, even if it doesn’t seem so long ago that he first bounced into Bobby Williamson’s Hibs team and started ruffling feathers.

‘I look at how I was then and how I am now,’ reflects Brown during a break at Celtic’s training camp in Gran Canaria. ‘At 17, I would look at guys like Gary Smith who was 34 and say: “Jeez, he’s got two years left in him — I’ll never be like that!’.

‘Now, I’m coming to 30 and I’m starting to think more about what I’m going to do after I stop playing.

‘It’s not just about training then going home and chilling out. I look at the whole picture differently. I appreciate things a lot more now.’

As part of a talented group that included his friends Kevin Thomson and Steven Whittaker, Brown’s introduction to first-team football was aided by a gang mentality.

First Williamson, then Tony Mowbray, tended to deploy him on the front foot to exploit his running power but, over the years, his role has changed and he is now effectively a screening midfielder.

Where once Brown’s distribution could be erratic, he is now a crisp and careful passer of the ball and one whose job is to shape play rather than shake it up.

‘I started off as a striker, so I’m getting further back,’ he laughs. ‘I had a freedom at Hibs — I was young and I would run into anything, tackle anyone, but now I understand the game a lot better.

‘It’s about getting on the ball and playing rather than putting pressure on people. It’s a totally different style of play.

‘I’ve enjoyed playing centremidfield for Celtic more than anything. I enjoy getting on the ball, taking it off defenders and starting things more than I ever did chasing down the goalie or chasing left-backs around the pitch.’

While Brown has been cutting his coaching teeth with Celtic’s development squad, those same players are having their education enhanced by the odd training session with the first team.

Several, including Liam Henderson, Joe Thomson and Calum Waters flew out to Maspalomas with the first-team squad last Tuesday and their presence has raised the tempo on the practice field.

‘People always say that it’s hard for the younger ones coming into training but it’s actually harder for the older pros to keep up with them,’ admitted Brown. ‘They are keen, they are willing to go and they bring so much energy that it brings out the best in the older players. I still play to win and these kids do, too.

‘Hopefully, they will learn something from me and, if they do, that’s amazing. But I’m only 29 and there’s a new manager who has come to Celtic with new ideas. I’m learning myself.’

While team-mate Kris Commons’ dithering over a contract extension suggests a reluctance to commit to the Ronny Deila era, Brown’s new deal can be taken as a sign that he is on board with the Norwegian.

Deila favours a game-plan which sees the team press the opposition high up the pitch and, while his younger self might have revelled in the chance to close down defences, Brown’s current role has taken some adjustment.

‘Everyone has different ideas,’ he adds. ‘The way we play with Celtic is totally different to what we do with Scotland, yet it’s the same formation.

‘So I have Gordon Strachan on one hand and Ronny on the other, and I have to adjust my game when I go to play for Scotland. It’s good to have that ability to adjust.’

It was Strachan who paid £4.4million to take Brown to Celtic but, asked to nominate the most important managerial influence on his career, Brown chooses neither he nor one of the other obvious candidates such as Mowbray or Neil Lennon.

‘Of them all, Bobby (Williamson) has got to be the one,’ he states. ‘He gave me my chance to go and play, to come through and show what I could do.

‘You will always remember your first manager more than any of the others. He is the one who put that trust in me at the start.

‘Next came Tony and we played brilliantly under him at Hibs. Gordon showed his faith in me by buying me for Celtic and later it was the exact same under Neil. I was his captain and I’m now playing under Ronny. You take bits and bobs from them all.’

Deila has fully endorsed Brown’s foray into coaching and it is expected that, in time, he will assume some duties with the first team.

For now, the arrangement is informal but Brown is enjoying the opportunity to offer advice to a new generation.

‘Stevie Frail has been great. He lets me come in when I like, even if it’s just to have a wee chat with the lads,’ he says.

‘He is very positive about what I’m doing and the kids have been brilliant, too. I’ve been with them for four games and they’ve won four times, so it has been going well.

‘The coaching has helped me understand the game more. I’ve always looked at the game from a midfielder’s point of view and I’ve tended to look forward. Working with Stevie, I’m learning to look back.

‘I’m understanding how to close the park down and show players onto a different side — all the things you hear every manager talking about.

‘Starting my B licence let me see that it’s not all about chucking cones out or wee, short games in training. It is about how you manage players — respecting the older pros and how you treat the younger ones.’