TWO infractions in six months hardly sounds like the sort of rap sheet that would cause palpitations for the local sheriff.

That is exactly the list of previous convictions which will have Scott Brown walking on eggshells against Inter Milan tonight, though. Well, charging around and thudding into tackles on eggshells.

One booking against Red Bull Salzburg in September and another against Astra Giurgiu in December means a further yellow card in tonight's first leg against the Italians would incur a suspension, ruling the Celtic captain out of next week's second leg in the San Siro. In international tournaments an amnesty occurs and bookings amassed in the group stages are wiped out before the knock-out rounds. No such clemency is shown in the Champions or Europa Leagues.

Two seasons ago, Brown missed half of a Champions League group stage after being sent-off for a glancing kick at Barcelona's Neymar as he was on the ground. Home-and-away-fixtures against Ajax and a visit from AC Milan passed with Brown as a spectator. The 29-year-old has a nice line in self-deprecation and would have you believe he cannot fully control himself in the heat of battle, but the reality is that is exactly what he must do. Brown's animal drive and aggression are pivotal to the leadership he brings to Celtic, and he must bring that to his game again tonight without overstepping the mark. "I'll approach it like every other game. I get booked every game anyway! [In fact, he has seven bookings in 33 appearances] But it's hard knowing that you maybe don't want to make 'that' tackle but you need to. If it comes along, it comes along. I'll just need to deal with that after the 90 minutes.

"It's hard to change my style. It is the way I've been brought up to play, it's the way I enjoy playing. Over the years I have chilled out a wee bit. I wouldn't say I'm more streetwise now, it's just about being smarter and getting older. You realise that if you get booked or suspended for something stupid then it doesn't just affect me, it affects the team as well. I wouldn't say getting sent-off against Barcelona changed me as a player but it forced me not to do something stupid. You learn from every experience. There was hardly any contact, but it was something I did. It was one stupid moment in my career and hopefully there are no more."

Brown has two difficulties tonight: UEFA's lack of a bookings amnesty ("that would be fairer") and the fact the opposition are Italian. Inter Milan's probable starting team includes nine non-Italians but that is unlikely to compromise the cunning and intelligence they will bring to the occasion. Italian clubs have long been acknowledged as the masters of football's dark arts and Celtic were the victims of that when Juventus manhandled and rough-housed their players at set-pieces while winning 3-0 at Parkhead in the last 16 of the Champions League two seasons ago.

The Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco was heavily criticised for failing to police the Juventus players at the time and Celtic will expect a greater level of vigilance from tonight's official, the Hungarian Istvan Vad. "It would help," said Brown. "It would have helped in the last game as well but I am sure the ref will be the same for both sides. Whatever happens in one box you'll get away with in the other box.

"There are still great sides in Serie A. We all used to watch 'Gazzetta' on Channel Four on a Sunday when we were younger. It's not on any longer but there are still great teams in there. They still consistently get to the last 16 and last eight of the Champions League pretty much every year so that shows you how well they are doing.

"They are just really organised teams. They are all excellent on the ball and attractive to watch. They defend in groups as well so they are hard to break down. We need to try to find those wee pockets which defenders and midfielders don't want to have to go in to. We can't give them too much space on the ball either as they will have guys like [Xherdan] Shaqiri who can cause problems if we don't shut them down."

Every day, every single working day, Celtic players are confronted by one of their own who brought down Inter Milan. John Clark is the Lisbon-Lion-turned-kit-man. "Maybe in 30 years time, I can still be talking about this game like 'Clarky' is about his one," said a smiling Brown. "He hasn't been boring us too much . . . only every day. He makes sure everyone knows what the club is all about in terms of the history. Now it's our time to create some of our own."