Rangers man admits ‘respect’ for rival player set to make 750th career appearance

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Steven Gerrard has admitted that the Old Firm Derby will feel different without Scott Brown, with the Celtic captain set to play his penultimate fixture against Rangers this weekend for the Hoops.

Speaking to The Sunday Post ahead of Rangers’ Scottish FA Cup tie against their Glaswegian rivals, Gerrard revealed his admiration for Brown, who is due to play his 750th career appearance this weekend, and that the former Liverpool captain can respect what the 35-year-old has achieved in his career.

It was announced last month via BBC Sport that Brown will leave Celtic at the end of this season to sign with Aberdeen, where he will take up a player-coach role with the Pittodrie club, ending a 14-year stint with the Hoops, and despite being the captain of Rangers’ biggest rivals, Gerrard himself admitted he had respect for the midfielder.

Gerrard said when asked about Brown and his future absence in the Old Firm: “I think the fixture will miss him. Of course it will. He is someone I have got respect for, from a football point of view, and what he has achieved in the game. To be that successful, and how he has gone about things. If I take my Rangers hat off, it’s something I respect very much because I know how hard it is to win in football.”

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With over 700 career appearances, 55 international caps, as well as acting as captain for both club and country, it’s easy to see why Gerrard has huge respect for Brown despite the rivalry between Rangers and Celtic.

The Old Firm Derby will also have the reputation as one of the fiercest and most intense rivalries in football, but sometimes there comes along a player from either team that can only be admired from both teams for the determination they’ve given to the game of football, and Brown is certainly one of these names in the 14-years he has represented Celtic.