SCOTT BROWN will have a different speech prepared for Ibrox compared to the words he used to gee his team-mates before they faced Morton.

Of course, just about everything will be different next Sunday for a derby which for the first time in 18 months is not so easy to call. However, one element will remain the same.

Brown, the Celtic captain, will approach this Old Firm match, as nobody at Celtic still calls it, in the exact same manner as he did this Scottish Cup quarter-final with Championship Morton at an empty Parkhead.

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It's why when all the individual awards are voted for, Brown must surely win any Player of the Year award going.

Brown, if he is not there already, is turning into one of the all-time great Celtic captains. He is a leader not only by his words, anyone can do a bit of shouting, but by his actions.

This was a win by numbers, a dreary game which those who bothered turning up for had seen all before. And yet Celtic’s No8 was at it from the first whistle to the 90th minute when his fine pass found James Forrest who in turn crossed for Odsonne Edouard for the third goal.

This match was forgotten about as soon as the final whistle was blown but there was one one player who still crunched into tackles as if his life depended on him winning the ball, passed said football forward most of the time and made sure he was back to clear up whenever Morton dare get forward, which they managed a couple of times.

Brown treats every game the same. He never plays anything other than at full pelt. He knows no other way.

His influence over his team-mates is huge. It doesn’t matter to him whether it’s Morton or Rangers, the midfielder will be at it from first to last.

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In a Celtic side which this season has played some ordinary stuff, Brown has extraordinary. He turns 33 in June. This campaign is the best of his long career.

And with him in the team, even after a goalless first-half, a shock was never on the cards.

Morton did well here. Moussa Dembele’s header in the first-half, quickly followed by the Frenchman converting a debatable penalty, made sure a nothing silly happened, and not all thoughts at Celtic Park turn to Ibrox.

A fourth win in a row over the river would put the champions nine points ahead with a game in hand. Defeat would close the gap to three points and even with another match to play with, a Rangers victory would see the phrase ‘title race’ written in large letters.

“For me, this is the most important match of the year,” said Edouard who impressed as a substitute and took his third goal with impressive poise.

“It’s against our biggest rivals. On these days, victory for the fans is very important. You cannot think about defeat.

“That’s why we’re all working towards a victory We know it will be hard against Rangers at their home but we are used to high-pressure situations."

And nobody is more used to such matches as Brown who will be counting the seconds until kick-off.

If every Brendan Rodgers player had the same attitude as the captain, the league would be won already.