Scott Brown is an all-time great Celtic captain – his Scotland retirement is good news

It may be a very long time before we have such a top-class player commit ten years to us again

There is one great advantage to being a blogger.

When you are right, you can quote yourself, with links and unbearable smugness, confident that most readers are too disinterested in your output to find all the times you've been wrong.

On Scott Brown, just about all of my comments have been in the former category and I'm a happy chappie today because I get to remind you of that again.

But, more importantly, I'm hugely relieved that Scott has chosen to retire from international football. (Ironically, shortly before Scott previously announced his international retirement, I had suggested the same thing.)

Scott clearly has a passion for the Scotland team that not all Celtic fans share, so I'm sure this is a day of mixed emotions.

But it is right for the player and that's a huge boost for the team.

You only have to look at Celtic without Scott, as in the insipid 0-0 draw with St Johnstone, to see how vital he is to everything Celtic do.

The intensity that Brendan Rodgers calls for comes from him, he takes the ball under pressure when his teammates are in trouble and turns defence into attack.

With the players under Brendan understanding where they should be on the pitch , Scott's pass completion rates have matched the finest players in Europe.

He can win the ball and seems to fear nothing but he has always had sharp attacking instincts. He has an enviable array of passes and can play-one-touch football at pace.

And he is also the only true leader we have on the pitch (with Kieran Tierney being the next best in that department).

And if that's all fawning praise, I don't mind that. More than ten years after signing for Celtic, Scott has taken his place amongst the all-time great Celtic captains alongside the likes of Billy McNeill, Danny McGrain, Roy Aitken and Tommy Burns while, as a footballer, he is the best central midfielder we have had since Paul McStay.

He has had his detractors in the past but they are mostly silent now. Few fans, let alone bloggers, wish to remind you that they once wanted him sold or considered an expensive player from Hibs not to fit with the plan.

But he has stayed, proven his quality and it may be a very long time before we have such a top-class player commit ten years to us again.

The announcement is good news for Celtic as we need Scott more than ever.

Now all we need is for Brendan Rodgers to learn his name properly. It's not Brownie, it's Broonie!

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