Brendan Rodgers is having a right ol’ love-in with his Celtic captain.
The Hoops boss sounds thoroughly taken by the character displayed by Scott Brown and he’s gone so far as to suggest that the midfielder would have given the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho a run for their money in Liverpool’s midfield during the famous 2013/14 season when the Reds came oh so close to winning the Premier League title.
Rodgers has become such a big fan of Brown’s work since they united at Celtic Park that he has suggested the Scot would have strolled into the Liverpool team.
“The biggest compliment I can give him is – having worked in what is supposedly the best league in the world in terms of being the most competitive – if I look at my Liverpool team that nearly won the title, Scott Brown would definitely have been in it,” Rodgers told the Daily Record.
“There’s no doubt about that. So that’s the level the guy is at as a player and as a captain, you want him on your team and on your side.
“It’s the biggest accolade I can give him but thankfully Scott’s chosen to play nearly 10 years at Celtic and still looks as strong and fit.”
Rodgers is convinced that Brown, who recently came out of international retirement, is a player capable of competing in the Premier League.
He points to Harry Redknapp wanting to sign Brown for Spurs as proof that of the 31-year-old’s quality.
“I remember Harry wanting to take him. Harry told me that so there’s no doubt he’s had moves where he could’ve left here,” Rodgers added.
“But Scott was happy in his life and happy here at Celtic. This is a hard place to leave. If money’s not the consideration – and no one can deny any player or any person the chance to consider doubling or trebling their salary – then other things come into it.
“Scott’s always been happy here and the supporters love him, they see his worth and probably even more at this stage.
“He’s devoting his life to football, is really strong and his preparation, his diet, the training methodology will always quicken him up, speed his game and get him tactically thinking.
“You saw last Sunday, Scott was magnificent and he can certainly retire in the comfort of knowing he could probably have played in that league and at the biggest level.”
The only question that remains is whether or not Scott Brown would’ve slipped against Chelsea.
Colm Parkinson is joined by Paul Rouse for a heated debate about Sky Sports’ five-year GAA deal and an exclusive chat with AFL star Zach Tuohy on the new GAA Hour. Subscribe here on iTunes
