Celtic pundit Russell Boyce has urged Scott Brown to stay at the club in the summer.
Boyce voiced his opinion about Brown when he appeared as a guest on the latest episode of the ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ podcast and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Bhoys.
One topic of discussion was the future of Brown and if he should leave Parkhead. Boyce made it clear that Brown would be the only connection between the first team and the management team and that would be needed for Celtic next season.
It has recently been reported via The Scottish Sun that Brown could be set to leave Celtic and become a player-assistant at Aberdeen if the Pittodrie-based club appoint Stephen Glass as their manager. Brown is still said to be good friends with Glass because of their time together at Hibernian and Glass wants him to join the staff at Aberdeen.
Should Celtic offer Brown a new contract?
Yes
No
Boyce believes that it is essential for Celtic to keep Brown as he has the experience of being in a team that haven’t won the league title and the current side perhaps needs that now.
The pundit claimed: “I’m obviously on record saying I think it is essential to keep Scott Brown.
“The link between the squad and the management team is going to be more essential than ever come this summer because it’s coming from a position we’ve never been before – which is having lost the league title.
“Only Scott Brown in that squad will ever have been through this before at Celtic. I think [James] Forrest maybe, but definitely Brown has been there through us not winning league titles before. He knows the character that’s required to come back; I certainly think he will be an asset for the new management team.”
TIF Thoughts on Scott Brown…
Brown has made 25 Premiership appearances this season, picking up a rating of 6.82/10 in the league. Having said that, as many as 18 players picked up better ratings than him (as per WhoScored).
While that might be a reflection of his fading powers as a player, he went three seasons without winning a Premiership title early in his Celtic career before winning nine on the spin. It shows that he indeed does have the experience of bouncing back from seasons that weren’t entirely successful.
The Hoops need to do that right now and even if Brown may not play regularly, he might give them the experience of knowing how to bounce back, so Boyce makes a fair point.