Yahoo News Scott Brown admits he knew he was 'too old and fragile' for Celtic as he details Parkhead exit
Scott Brown has revealed that he didn't give much thought to leaving the club, as two key factors made it clear his time at Parkhead was over.
Despite a successful career filled with trophies, the 36 year old knew it was time to hang up his boots and embark on a new journey at Aberdeen.
He took on a player-coach role under Stephen Glass, bringing his wealth of experience to the team. However, things didn't go as smoothly as planned, with the now Ayr United boss admitting his mind was willing but his body couldn't keep up, leading him to transition into a sweeper role.
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Discussing his departure from Celtic on the Scottish Football podcast, he said: "There was no consideration for me, I was going. I was getting too old and fragile. If I wanted I could have probably have stayed and held on to me being a 36-year-old and trying to be 'watch me I can still do this at the highest level' but I didn't want to disrespect the fans and say I am still captain of this club, will turn up, run about and watch me I can still do it when I knew deep down I couldn't."
"I went up to Aberdeen to go in and understand what I wanted. Glassy offered me the chance to go up there as part of his coaching staff. It was a great learning experience. We worked really well together and I was in there dressing room jumping between there and the players."
"The only problem was me probably. I just couldn't get about compared to what my brain wanted me to do. At the same time I was 36, I was still fit running in straight lines but my hip started to slowly cause me problems. I ended up playing sweeper for them.", reports the Daily Record.
"Sweeper worked quite well as I am quite calm on the ball, didn't have to run as much and had two lads who were rapid beside me. So for us to squeeze a good line there was not that much pressure on myself to make sure I was making that last ditch tackle, or win that header. We did really play some good games. We had a good team. It was just small details and we couldn't keep a clean sweep. Maybe it was because I was at the back.."
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Brendan Rodgers to this day is still just a phone call away for Brown. A goalkeeping crisis at Somerset Park was handled by his old boss in the shape of an emergency loan.
And it is things like that the former Scotland international admits is a lucky aspect of his playing days. He also named the Northern Irishman and Neil Lennon as the TWO main influences on his coaching career.
He expressed his gratitude, saying: "He helped us with Josh [Clarke] coming in. The goalie has come in for the last three or four games there. He's been exceptional. We got an injury and we got an emergency loan in. Celtic helped us out. For that I am lucky enough to pick up the phone to Celtic and ask for help now and again."
Reflecting on his influences, he added: "I probably learned more from him [Rodgers]and Lenny than anybody else. Gordon [Strachan] I learned a lot from when I was a lot younger but I probably didn't remember as much as I probably should have. I always wanted to be part of a coaching staff or a manager or some sort of identity in a football club."
Discussing his career trajectory, he shared: "I was lucky enough when Brendan came in at the right time. I was kind of maybe on the downward under Ronny. My whole game was based on fitness. Small details like that and we were brilliant for 60-65 minutes under Ronny and couldn't maintain that standard. The amount of goals we lost late on in games was due to fitness and nothing else."
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On the impact of Brendan Rodgers, he concluded: "Brendan comes in and changes everything. Pre-season was disgusting. Yes everybody says it was with the ball. Yeah it was, but it was disgusting but that is what made Brendan's team good. It just wasn't like run here and there. There was a tactical understanding of the game."
When quizzed about the likelihood of potentially managing Celtic in the future, he responded: "Everyone says that. For me I just need to worry about myself. What I done and how I played at Celtic is all in the past. You don't become manager because you played at Celtic. You have to go and earn it."
He went on to say, "You are taking good quality players and they have a right good IQ and understanding about the game. You also need to make sure you make them better. You need to also have that passion with the fans. Brendan has that in bundles and so does his backroom staff."
