HIS focus is, as always, fully on Celtic. With a huge season coming up, one that his team mate Leigh Griffiths has described as the biggest in the Parkhead club’s entire history, it has to be. But Scott Brown is still cognisant of events elsewhere in Scottish football. 

And the grave difficulties that many Premiership outfits are currently experiencing as a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak – not least his former club Hibernian – have been a concern to the midfielder.

Brown spent the formative years of his career at Easter Road and was saddened to learn last week that Hibs had decided to shelve their youth academy programme in order to reduce costs. 

“It’ll be hard for all the kids who thought they had a chance of moving through the ranks,” he said. “But Hibs need to do what they’ve done in order to survive and the main thing for them is to keep the first team going for as long as they can and try to put out the best squad possible.

“With a little luck, they can try and bring it back next year and maybe finishing higher up the table will give them the money to do that.”

The plight of Hearts, who were last week relegated from the top flight after the majority of SPFL clubs rejected league reconstruction, has also touched the Celtic captain.

He can understand why they, together with Partick Thistle, have challenged the decision and are seeking millions of pounds in compensation.

“I always have sympathy for players who’ve been relegated and it’s hard for any club, especially in the current climate because there will be a huge impact on these clubs for going down,” he said. “Hearts are probably just doing what anyone else in their position would have done.

“That’ll be hard for them because everyone’s talking about budgets and wages being cut for players and staff as well because clubs need to do that in order to survive. You don’t want to see them struggling, you want to see everyone in all four leagues getting through this.”

Celtic certainly haven’t been immune from the financial repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic; Brown agreed to accept a pay cut and salary deferral along with his manager Neil Lennon, fellow players, coaching staff and senior executives back in April.

“We’ve played our part in that regard and (chief executive) Peter Lawwell has been unbelievable in the way he’s dealt with the situation and left Celtic in a strong position,” he said. “We’ve done our bit and everyone was happy to help out.”

It remains unclear, though, whether Lennon will be able to strengthen his Celtic squad before the 2020/21 campaign gets underway in August due to the uncertainty that coronavirus has caused in the international transfer market.  

Yet, Brown feels the Scottish champions, who will be bidding to become the first side ever to win 10 consecutive titles in the new season, have a strong squad as things stand.

He believes that holding on to their key men will be just as important as bringing in new faces. He is optimistic they can do that despite the likes of Kristoffer Ajer, Odsonne Edouard and Callum McGregor attracting interest.

“When you have great players then they get linked with other clubs, that’s just what happens,” he said. “But they all want to be here and they’re all under contract as well.

“We have some great players here, Kristoffer Ajer, Callum McGregor, Christopher Jullien, Jamesy Forrest and Odsonne Edouard. But all of the lads want to stay here. That shows the mentality of this squad.”

Brown is certainly desperate to be involved. He turns 35 on Thursday and knows that he won’t be able to continue playing forever. But his fitness levels are high and his infectious enthusiasm undiminished.

“As long as I’m available for selection, it’s then up to the manager and the backroom staff as to whether or not I play or whether I’m a bit-part player,” he said. “But I’ll make sure that I’m always here willing to train and play.

“Obviously, I want to be in their plans and play in every game, but time may tell. Right now, though, I’m enjoying it and feeling fit and as good as I’ve ever done so maybe the rest has helped me. It’s a bit like the international breaks in recent seasons.

“I do miss playing for the national team, but at some stage you have to take care of yourself and look after your legs and I’ve definitely benefited from having those days off while the other lads have been away in the last few years.”

Brown is confident the extended break from the game will have been good for many of Lennon’s most important players.

“Callum, Jamesy, Ryan Christie and the other international boys will thrive after having had this time off after having just a fortnight’s holiday for the last three or four years,” he said. “I think they’ll get stronger as next season goes on. Now we just want to start kicking a ball again and get the rage back.”

Brown has, in stark contrast to the vast majority of the population, grown his hair during lockdown. But he will be his usual intimidating shaven-headed presence in the middle of the park when football resumes.

Asked about his new-look barnet, he said: “It’s mid-life crisis No.3, isn’t it? Everyone else shaved their heads so I decided to grow mine because I don’t like to be a sheep. No, it’s definitely coming off, that’s for sure.”