SCOTT BROWN, the Celtic captain, has vowed that he and his team-mates will have Georgios Samaras' back should IF Elfsborg target the Greek again in the return leg of the sides' Champions League third round qualifying tie tomorrow night.
Samaras was the subject of some heavy treatment in the first leg, eventually settled by Kris Commons' second-half goal, with four Elfsborg players booked for fouls on the Celtic forward.
James Keene, Elfsborg's English striker, made it clear that Elfsborg plan on adopting similar tactics in the return match in the Boras Arena, revealing that "there will be a few more tackles waiting for him in Sweden". That has annoyed Brown, who stated the Celtic players would form a unified front as they look to make it through to the play-off round of the competition.
"If they are going to single Sami out for special treatment, that should be fun," said Brown. "A few of the lads will help Sami out; that's for sure. We are a tight group of players. We have lunch together, we have a bit of craic in the gym and games room, and enjoy the banter. But as soon as we go on the pitch, we all stick up for each other. Is it all for one, one for all? Yeah it is."
Brown, who was helping launch the club's new away kit, felt that Celtic handled the Swedes' heavy treatment well in the first game. "Elfsborg went in to win every ball and tried to put pressure on us, especially in the first half," he added.
"It worked at the start as we didn't play that well, but we came out in the second half and had a lot more control of the ball. They didn't get as many tackles in. We moved the ball a lot quicker."
Manager Neil Lennon admitted after Saturday's opening day league victory over Ross County that he was close to agreeing a new one-year rolling contract, something which pleased Brown. "The manager signing a new deal would be a boost for everybody at the club," said the midfielder. "He enjoys the job. He passes on everything he did in his career and helps us in every way."
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