SCOTT BROWN'S dramatic U-turn to come out of international retirement after just two months has been described as a 'no-brainer' by Mark McGhee, as the Scotland assistant manager insisted his return is just the boost the squad needs ahead of their World Cup qualifier with England.
It emerged yesterday that Gordon Strachan, the national team manager, and the Celtic captain had spoken about the 31-year-old returning to the fold with him now expected to be unveiled next week for the game at Wembley on November 11. Scotland have played three matches without Brown in Group F, registering a win in Malta to soften the blow of scraping a draw at home to Lithuania before being turned over in a 3-0 defeat away to Slovakia.
It is understood that it was the player himself who initiated talks of being available for selection going forward, a decision that was made perhaps in the knowledge that his resurgence at club form under Brendan Rodgers has raised his game and fitness to a level where he feels able once more to cope with juggling both commitments.
"I think it is [a no-brainer]. There are no negatives to it," said McGhee of the man with 50 caps to his name. "I was asked about him saying no then wanting to come back. The lad is entitled to his life and his own feelings and the pressures someone like him has.
"I think it is significant, Brendan’s arrivals, Broonie seeing it and thinking, ‘this could be really exciting at Celtic’ and want to be part of that and want to give himself as good a chance as he could to be part of that. I think now what he has realised is, ‘I can do this. I can be part of it. I can be part of something exciting at Celtic Park and do this.’
"If that’s the case fine, I welcome him back with open arms."
The Motherwell manager and Scotland No 2 was open about what this would also do for the mood of the camp going into a pivotal game for the national side against Gareth Southgate's England. Scotland's poor form in the last international break left many dreading the trip to London in two weeks' time, but McGhee is content that Brown's return could be the shot in the arm the nation needs.
"I think it does. Certainly, I feel we are stronger with him," he said. "And therefore more positive about going to Wembley.
"Him back in the camp, with his voice, is a character and he is an influence from day one when we meet up. That can only be good. Scott has played against most of the England midfield many times. Either with Scotland or in European games. They will know him and I’m sure they would prefer him not to play.
"But it’s how he affects other people around him as well. He makes other people better players.
"The day he announced it I almost thought of going and trying to talk him out of it himself. I didn’t really think that was my role. But there are no negatives. The other players will be delighted. He is popular within the camp."
McGhee was joined in praising the development by Neil Lennon, the Hibs manager who managed Brown during his time at Celtic.
He added: “That is a huge boost for Scotland. I would think that having Broonie back in the Scotland squad and playing the way he is would be huge fillip for the squad, for the fans and for Gordon as well.
“He probably looked at last season when he was picking up injuries and playing with injuries, it was taking its toll on him but he looks really fresh this season and is playing very, very well - far more like the Scott we know.
“He played brilliantly for me for a number of seasons and it looks like he’s back to playing that way again. I think the majority of the players will know him and will probably welcome him back with open arms because he’s playing with a presence and a drive and I think that’s probably been missing a little bit from the Scotland team.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel