It has to be said that up until fairly recently Celtic captain Scott Brown has not had the very best of seasons. He looked off the pace, and was struggling in a way that he hadn’t in recent years.
That didn’t stop Celtic manager Neil Lennon from selecting Brown in the side though. For every game in this recent hectic spell, Brown was selected, and was captain as usual.
Lennon showed plenty of faith in the Hoops skipper, and in the last two performances that faith has been rewarded.
Superb in recent league win
Brown was superb in Celtic’s win over Hibernian last week. He controlled the middle of the park like he has done so many times before, enabling the Hoops to dominate the game in a very convincing 3-0 win.
He then followed this up with arguably an ever better performance in the Europa League play-off match against Sarajevo.
With Celtic’s European future on the line, Brown strolled through the game. He was constantly in the right place at the right time to break up Sarajevo attacks. Once more, he helped the Hoops control the middle of the park and it paid off as Celtic won 1-0 to reach the group stages.
Performances have come at a good time
Brown’s performances have come at a good time. He will want to keep the run going in Sunday’s trip to St Johnstone.
It is just a pity that the international break follows the St Johnstone game. However, that does give Brown plenty of time to get focused on Celtic’s first game after the break, the Glasgow derby.
After a couple of recent indifferent performances against Rangers, Brown will be out to prove a point. He will want to show that Celtic are still the top dogs in Scottish football.
There is no doubt that he will be one of the first names on Neil Lennon’s team sheet for that game. It would be no surprise to see Brown dominate the middle of the park. After all, he has done it so many times in previous derbies.
Brown looks to have the bit between his teeth now, and long may this run of form continue.
In other news, John Hartson and Chris Sutton have given their verdicts on Celtic’s Europa League draw.
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