Whenever we return, Brown will still be my leading man

NEIL LENNON has no idea when Celtic will next kick a competitive ball. He is, however, certain of one thing. When his team does finally return to action, he wants Scott Brown leading the line out of the tunnel. At 34, Brown continues to set the tone for the Parkhead club, whether it be at the front of the pack during a training-day run or when the players hunker down for a last piece of advice in the pre-match huddle.

The hyperactivity that prompted Scotland Under-21s coach Rainer Bonhof to empty the fizzy drinks from a hotel mini bar may be consigned to the past, but Brown still brings an unmatched level of energy and purpose to Celtic’s training sessions.

Brown is now approaching the age at which, in 2007, Lennon himself called time on his spell as a Celtic player. He was replaced by a young kid from Hibernian in whom Gordon Strachan saw enough to invest £4million, a fee that stands as a record between Scottish clubs.

Brown seriously considered an offer to join Australian A-League start-up Western United some 15 months ago but instead opted to stay and sign a new contract with Celtic.

For years, his longevity has been called into question and the murmurs were again growing louder before the season was suddenly called to halt earlier this month.

Even if Scottish football does not resume until the curtain is lifted on the 2020-21 season, Lennon wants his captain in situ.

‘He will be around it next year, that’s for sure,’ said the manager. ‘I think he would be a huge loss to me and to the club if he stopped playing.

‘I wasn’t here at the time, but I thought Australia would have been a disaster for him.

‘He sets the template for the younger players. He is insatiable in training, he has an incredible desire for work.

‘It’s that thing you talk about — it’s in-built. You can’t give a player that. That desire to keep pushing the team on — all the players take their lead from that.

‘He wants to keep pushing himself and the team on to bigger and better things. ‘He’ll be important in this period coming up.

‘If he detects any type of complacency at all, he tries to nip it in the bud straight away.’

For now, training has been suspended at Lennoxtown and Celtic’s pursuit of a ninth title in a row — and fourth consecutive Scottish Cup — frozen in time.

Unfortunately for Lennon, there is no way to preserve Brown’s physiology. If the ageing process has already taken some toll on his ability to cover ground, time will further erode his ability to influence matches.

Lennon wants him to captain the team through next season at least, but thought has already been given to what role he might occupy when his playing contribution is brought to a conclusion.

Speaking at the time of that proposed flit to Australia, then manager Brendan Rodgers outlined his opinion that a coaching role would be open to Brown when he eventually stepped back from the frontline and Lennon would only underline that conviction.

‘I would offer him something — he’d be straight in,’ said Lennon. ‘As far as I am concerned, when he stops playing, there will be a coaching role for Scott here at the club.

‘For me, it is the obvious path for him in the future. He is doing his badges at the minute and I would definitely want him around the place when he stops playing.

‘He is looking well and he has had a great season so far. The way he has played and the way he leads on and off the field, he has had an exemplary season up until now.

‘This wee break might do him the the world of good.’

That last comment follows Brown’s struggle to shake off a calf injury in the wake of the club’s Europa League tie against FC Copenhagen.

Forced off late in the first leg against the Danes, Brown subsequently took an injection and was listed to start the club’s next Premiership match at home to Kilmarnock three days later.

Come the following Thursday, Brown seemed impaired — a second too late to the odd challenge, a yard off optimum positioning as Copenhagen managed the Glasgow second leg perfectly to progress to the last 16 of the tournament on a 4-2 aggregate scoreline.

Despite the raft of midfield options available to him — Callum McGregor, Nir Bitton and Ismaila Soro would all be contenders to deputise in the anchor role — it is clear Lennon simply feels more comfortable with Brown in his key position.

Before the coronavirus caused the suspension of the season, Brown had played 50 games for Celtic this term, a tally that could reach the 60 mark were the club to complete the league programme and reach the Scottish Cup final.

Tony Mowbray had already — and perhaps surprisingly — named Brown as Celtic captain when Lennon first stepped into the job a decade ago but the emergent manager still had a big call to make in confirming the midfielder’s status as he embarked on his first full season in the job.

Wholesale change may have been needed at the time but Brown kept his place and the armband. Lennon has not regretted his decision.

Ronny Deila and Rodgers also had trust in Brown and when he returned last year, Lennon knew he had a reliable link to the players’ inner sanctum.

‘We are four or five years on now, so I probably do rely on him a little bit more,’ continued the Northern Irishman. ‘I speak to Scott whenever I feel like it, he is my go-to guy, he is my captain and you won’t get a better one than him.

‘He gives me the general feeling of the dressing room and he is the architect of the dressing room. All the players respect him.

‘He has won so much and led the club so much. He has matured into a great lad and a great player.

‘He is a huge figure around the club. The players listen to him and he is a really good role model for a lot of them.’

He will be around next year, that’s for sure. I think he would be a huge loss for me and to the club if he stopped playing now