‘As good as you get’: Gordon Strachan blown away by Celtic player

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Celtic captain Scott Brown has been praised by Gordon Strachan after being named in the 63-year-old’s greatest Hoops XI.

The 34-year-old has been at Celtic since 2007, when he joined from Hibernian, and in that time, the midfielder has been simply sensational for the Parkhead side.

Brown has made 566 competitive Celtic appearances to date, scoring 45 goals and claiming 60 assists, and has lifted nine Scottish Premiership titles, five Scottish Cups and seven League Cups.

He has been Celtic’s captain since February 2010, and has also made more European appearances for the Bhoys than any other player.

Strachan, who managed Celtic between 2005 and 2009, named Brown alongside Neil Lennon, Aiden McGeady, Shaun Maloney and Shunsuke Nakamura in a five-man midfield.

“He wasn’t at his best when he first got to Celtic, for various reasons, which shows why we shouldn’t judge players too quickly,” Strachan wrote in The Scottish Sun.

“Now he’s up there with Billy McNeill in Celtic folklore, and that’s as good as you get. He’s one of Celtic’s most influential players of all time – he’s driven the team on for ten years.”

Artur Boruc is in between the Celtic sticks behind a four-man defence of Paul Telfer, Stephen McManus, Gary Caldwell and Mark Wilson, while Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink is the lone striker.

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Brown has been nothing short of sensational for Celtic, and it’s no surprise to see him named in Strachan’s XI of players he’s managed – indeed, he’s worthy of the Hoops all-time XI.

He has been a crucial, indispensable member of a Celtic team that has cleaned up in terms of glory in Scotland these past 10 years, and as Strachan said, he is up there with the great Billy McNeill in the club’s annals.