Celtic captain Scott Brown reckons he has many more miles in the tank

SCOTT BROWN says all those who sought to write him off when he was struggling under Ronnie Deila will be in for more misery should he pick up the Players’ Player of the Year Award tonight.

The Celtic captain turns 33 in June and will do so on the back of what has arguably been his best ever campaign.

“I think it’s been my most consistent,” said the midfielder.

“Consistency has been the key for me this season, just to make sure I am injury-free and there for selection.

“I think I have only missed one or two games due to suspension.

“That is not bad given that everyone was telling me I was finished a few years ago.

“But I keep bouncing back and proving people wrong. That’s put a smile on my face and probably made a few people miserable, too.

“Not a lot of things bother me, to be honest. But I just like putting a wee smile on my own face. I can still go and play 60 games a season at a top-quality standard.

“I’ve been playing in the Champions League and also the SPFL, dominating games from start to finish.

“And some people say that at 30 years of age your legs have gone and you are finished.

“I turn up and train and I’m fully fit again. I’m still one of the fittest in the team and that’s what keeps me going and feeling as young as I do.”

For as long as that remains the case, he will carry on doing what he is doing.

“I feel I can play for another three or four seasons,” said the man who moved along the M8 from Hibs to Celtic in the summer of 2007.

“Whether that’s at Celtic, or not, I don’t know – but I would love to stay here for the rest of my career. The club has great for me since I signed.

“Here’s hoping I can win a lot more trophies before I finish.

“I still have another year to go, so that will take me to 34.

“I’m in no rush. The club knows I’m going nowhere.

“There is no rush between me, the manager and Peter Lawwell.

“We will sit down whenever we need to sit down, whether it’s halfway through next season, they know I always want to be here.”

Given Brown has finished up as a trophy winner in 11 out of the last 12 seasons, it is fair to describe the relationship as being a mutually beneficial one.

“That’s’ why I came to Celtic in the first place – to be a winner, and win trophies,” he said.

“I had a wee sniff of it at Hibs, winning the CIS League Cup. I came to Celtic won leagues, Scottish Cups and now Trebles.

“You get greedy, you’re hungry and you want more.

“I want to continue doing it. I still have that drive to win as many trophies as possible before it’s time to call it a day.

“You are always learning and I think the current manager has given me an understanding of the game more than anything.

“It’s not about just bombing on and trying to be a box-to-box player.

“It’s more about positional sense and understanding how other teams are playing and how we can open them up.”

A trick for which he feels Celtic do not always receive the credit they deserve. Specifically not in the 4-0 trouncing of Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-finals last week.

“Yes, it was more about us. If we turn up then we are great to watch on our day,” he continued.

“We need to make sure we do that with more consistently we have this season.

“But the pitches haven’t played great this season. It’s been battles more than anything.

“We have still managed to win the battles. But now the good weather is coming back, hopefully,the good football will, too.”

Meanwhile, Brown’s fellow midfielder Olivier Ntcham is hoping Celtic can persuade his fellow Frenchman Odsonne Edouard to extend his time with the club beyond his current loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

“For me Odsonne is a very good player and the more he plays the more he improves,” said Ntcham.

“He is happy here. It helps to have fellow French players. I had two at Genoa, so that helps a lot.

“I won’t try to persuade him because he is his own man. But he knows how I feel and I hope he stays.”