So Scott Brown appears to be leaving Celtic Park for Pittodrie, with all but the official announcement still to be confirmed.
The Daily Record reported last night that Brown had held talks with Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack after Celtic drew 1-1 with Rangers on Sunday. It’s been reported that an agreement was struck there and then for Broony to end his 14-year stay at Parkhead.
The idea is that he’ll be Stephen Glass’ number two in a player-coach capacity. And that potential appointment took a step closer to happening today. Glass has officially been appointed the Dons new boss. At the time of writing, Brown’s switch hasn’t yet been confirmed.
But it looks certain that it will be at some stage. The Record initially reported last night that it would be confirmed within the next 48 hours. Yet the whole idea was something Brown laughed off only months ago. When asked about a player/coach role, the Celtic legend scoffed at the idea and ruled it out.
As quoted by Sky Sports last month, Brown said: “I am still too young for that. I am doing my coaching badges and I am learning quite a lot from John and the manager (Lennon) and other managers too.
“Now is not the right time for me to be jumping into becoming a player-coach or a coach or anything like that. I think I’ve still got a lot to offer on the field or with the lads on the training ground.”
A sudden change of heart? Regardless, Scott Brown looks set to switch Celtic Park for Pittodrie
It’s perhaps example number 1,543,122 of why you should never take a player or manager’s comments too seriously. Goodness knows where the sudden change of heart may have come from, but Brown looks set to depart.
Not that he’ll go with any lack of good wishes. Many Celtic fans, myself included, will feel that the time is right for Broony to move on. Granted, a coaching role at Parkhead or Lennoxtown was more what many of us had in mind.
You can see the attractiveness of the opportunity. We’re talking about Scotland’s third biggest club at the moment. The chance to be their assistant manager and be competing at the top end of the table as a coach? It’s a tremendous experience for Brown. It’s not as if he would’ve waltzed right into a new manager’s first-team coaching staff at Celtic. Or there was no guarantee of it at least.
Yet it still feels bizarre. Brown was so adamant that the time wasn’t right to become a player/coach. It would be extremely intriguing to find out what changed his mind. After all, something must’ve attracted him during meetings with Cormack and/or Glass.
With regards to ourselves, Celtic will be prepared for this. In truth, we should’ve been prepping for it all year. Liam Shaw is set to arrive in the summer whilst Ismaila Soro looks set to be his on-field successor. We also have a ready-made captain-in-waiting in Callum McGregor too.
But it’ll still be sad to see Brown depart regardless, especially with no proper send-off available due to the absence of fans from stadiums. Hopefully, if and when this is confirmed, Brown will reveal more about what made him change his thought process.
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