Immortal Brown didn’t need to rub it in to Dons fans
PERHAPS when you are an Invincible and part of something immortal, you can be excused for thinking you are untouchable, too.
Scott Brown has been the relentless driving force behind this most remarkable of Trebles for Celtic — just the fourth in their history, remember — and describes the immediate aftermath of a magnificent climax to the season at Hampden as ‘the best feeling ever’.
How odd it was, then, to watch the Parkhead captain mark it by choosing to rub salt in the wounds of heartbroken Aberdeen fans at the final whistle, bouncing to the edge of Derek McInnes’ technical area after body-slamming Jozo Simunovic and standing, staring into the ranks of the Red Army with three fingers raised aloft as his team-mates celebrated with their own followers in the distance.
Mercifully, given the scenes that followed last year’s cup final, the Dons faithful were too shellshocked, too badly broken in the wake of Tom Rogic’s stoppage-time winner, to get properly angry.
Maybe this confusing vignette was just an unfortunate by-product of the heightened state Brown, such a ferocious competitor, operates in on matchday.
Maybe he has been emboldened by his red card for a lunge at Ross County’s Liam Boyce being overturned on appeal and yesterday’s referee Bobby Madden appearing unwilling to even talk to him about some questionable challenges.
Whatever the motivation, it just seemed an unfortunate way for him to end what has been a season notable for his maturity and intelligence on the field. It might be something for him to consider over the summer.
Certainly, Brown deserves to enjoy his successes.
Revitalised following the injuries which hindered him last season and propelled ever forward by the synergy that exists between him and manager Brendan Rodgers, he has given everything and received such golden rewards in return.
‘It is the best feeling I have ever had,’ stated Brown postmatch. ‘You could not have expected anything better. What we have dedicated to this has been phenomenal. To go all the way through the league without being defeated, win two (other) trophies and clean up the Treble is the best feeling. It is exceptional.
‘I never thought the winner would come. Aberdeen gave us a great game and they have been outstanding all season.
‘The fact it went down to the last minutes sums us up, though. When you go back to that first game in Gibraltar (a 1-0 loss to Lincoln Red Imps), I don’t think anyone would have expected this; for us to go all the way through a
season undefeated and to win three trophies. That is phenomenal.’
Brown was certainly involved in a real battle in the heart of midfield with the likes of Kenny McLean and Ryan Jack.
Jack, who cut a tearful figure at the end of his final game for Aberdeen, is now expected to join Rangers under freedom of contract and Brown, wearing a mischievous smile, insisted he is keen to continue crossing swords with him in the heat of Old Firm battle.
‘Yeah, I’m looking forward to him going to Rangers,’ said Brown. ‘I hope he goes.
‘We knew the game was going to be hard and Aberdeen did come at us.
‘They did really well, but, luckily for us, we had that quality in Tom Rogic right at the end. We showed our fitness. We believed that Jozo and Dedryck (Boyata) could handle pretty much anything. They controlled the game from the back and kept us going forward so we could create chances from there.
‘We got a bit lucky in the first-half. They played well then, but I thought, in the second half, we kept creating chances right until the end.’
Celtic lost Kieran Tierney just after the midway point of the first half as a result of a facial injury sustained in a collision with Jayden Stockley, but Brown paid tribute to versatile Callum McGregor for the way he filled in at full-back for the remainder of the match.
‘Kieran is looking better. He looks like a proper wee hard man now,’ laughed Brown. ‘It was sad he had to go off and, when I saw Tom Rogic coming on, I thought: “Jeez, he’s not going to left-back.”
‘Wee Callum went to leftback and was brilliant. That showed his quality. He’s calm, composed and can defend.’
McGregor missed out on a call-up to the Scotland squad for next month’s World Cup qualifier with England, but Stuart Armstrong will take his place beside Brown in midfield — and showed his worth yesterday by cancelling out Jonny Hayes’ ninth-minute opener within a couple of minutes.
Asked if there was a moment he worried the Treble dream would disappear, Brown replied: ‘As soon as they scored. It was a great finish by Jonny and something they clearly had worked on in training.
‘We then went straight up the park and scored.
‘Stuart has scored, created chances and has driven us on from midfield all season. It was a great finish by him.’