SCOTT BROWN has accused Rangers of being too mouthy before the last Old Firm clash.
The ex-Celtic skipper believes Brendan Rodgers’ side won the derby as they did their talking on the park. Broony confidently predicted a Hoops victory on December 30 as a pundit on Sky Sports.
3
3
3
And asked why he was so certain Rodgers’ side would win, Broony said: “Celtic are quiet. They don’t speak too much, they don’t get too excited. They stay kind of mellow all the way through and I think that’s the best thing that Brendan ever brought to the football club.
“He’s always just made sure things are ticking over quietly and working towards the game ahead.
“But it sparks you a little bit more. You let them speak then you go and dictate, win the game and then you’re like, ‘Yeah mate, there you go!’.”
Celts won the derby 2-1. Broony didn’t pinpoint what Rangers said that he felt was out of order.
But, asked if he felt Gers put too much pressure on themselves by saying too much, he added: “Yes. You see all of the fans jumping on the bandwagon as well.
“But, for me, Celtic got it spot on. They knew how to go and play against Rangers, they knew what they were going to do.
“Rangers had a couple of chances, but Celtic dominated the game.
“The Celtic press was exceptional compared to Rangers. You look at the Celtic front six. They’ll go and press and work hard. That’s the difference between the two teams.
“If you look at the distance covered by both of them, nine times out of ten, whoever works the hardest wins the game.” Brown has also urged Rangers and Celtic to strike a deal to let away fans into derbies again.
He said: “It is sad that there are no away fans for either side.
“Hopefully we can get back to having away fans at the games.
“It’s the biggest game in Scotland and probably in Britain to be fair, you want to advertise it as well as you possibly can.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s good if you go away from home, you win and then see that stadium empty. We did that a lot with Celtic and that’s why everything changed.
“We ended up with just 700 fans in the corner and they were still louder than the home fans.
“It maybe worked for them in that Covid season but after that, we bounced back, the lads have fired through and are doing really well again.
“But you want the fans. You want the passion from both sides. Supporters want to be there as well.
“They want to go and feel what it’s like to see your team win there.”
Meanwhile, Celts have granted Serie A Bologna permission to speak to teenage winger Rocco Vata about a move to Italy.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
*Scott Brown was speaking at a Scottish Gas media event. Scottish Gas is the proud partner of the Scottish Cup.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page