Scott Brown has confirmed that his departure from Celtic has been motivated, in part, because of the continuing uncertainty over not only his own future but the direction of the club. In short, he has confirmed that he decided to leave because we’ve not yet appointed a manager. For those inside the club who wanted him to stay, this is damning.
A lot of our fans, and people inside Celtic, had wanted Brown to get that extra year.
For continuity.
It’s an argument I don’t agree with myself, but I do understand those who do, and who believe that it was in the club’s best interests to hold onto him.
Could Brown have done a job for us in midfield next season?
Absolutely. In the SPL anyway. If used properly.
Aberdeen has given him a two-year deal; they have no doubts at all.
They’ve also offered him a coaching job so they are impressed.
These are exactly the reasons some thought he should be retained another year.
They are the very reasons I thought he shouldn’t be; the club needs a move beyond the Brown era and I saw no purpose to delaying it except that we can now add him to the list of players who we need to replace. Celtic’s hierarchy knew that full well … this is why they offered him an extension.
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But Brown is no mug.
He looks at the club right now and he wonders what direction it’s going on, and as he clearly wants to play he would have been the first guy to chap on the new manager’s door and ask for the clarity a man of his standing at Celtic deserves.
There is no manager though, and Brown is right to be asking how long he has to wait for one.
“For me to have that fresh start with someone I know, trust and respect fully, or be sitting at Celtic until the end of the season not sure what to do or who’s coming in, that played on my mind,” he said.
If he looks at the landscape right now and thinks “well clearly they aren’t in hurry here” then he’s not alone.
He needed that clarity though; his contract is up in a few short months and whilst it was nice to know the one-year extension from us was there, Brown isn’t going to take money for sitting in the stands.
That’s not the man’s style. He’s a class act.
It’s looking like Eddie Howe might be the next boss. That gives us, as fans, the clarity we had wanted, but it has come too late for the captain. His departure is only a small part of the larger exodus, but this one will be felt by people inside Celtic Park.
They really only have themselves to blame.