Celtic ended up getting knocked out of the competition on penalties.
Celtic’s Scott Brown
Scott Brown has conceded that he should have declared himself unfit ahead of Celtic’s Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Rangers last season, the Evening Times reports.
The Hoops skipper only played one game in over three months earlier in the campaign due to injury, but was back playing by the end of January.
Celtic’s Scott Brown looks dejected after missing his penalty during the shootout
However, he often looked out of sorts following his return and it appeared that he had come back into the first-team before he was ready.
And that fact was perhaps never more apparent than when he featured in the semi-final at Hampden Park, which the Bhoys would go on to lose on penalties as he struggled to make any impact for the champions against their second tier opponents.
Celtic’s Scott Brown and Patrick Roberts in action with Rangers’ Jason Holt
And ahead of this weekend’s League Cup semi-final, Brown has stated that, in hindsight, it was a poor decision to play, but insisted that he was never going to turn his back on the chance to play in an Old Firm game.
“Every Scottish player, if you gave them the opportunity to play in a Rangers v Celtic semi-final, would bite your hand off for it. If someone says to me ‘are you fit to play’ I’m always there to play for anyone. But, looking back, maybe I shouldn’t have,” he said, as reported by the Evening Times.
“What percentage was I fit? I don’t know. It was just aches and pains, coming back too early from injuries and trying to pull through.”
Luckily for Celtic, Brown looks a completely different player this season to the one that finished the last campaign.
Under Brendan Rodgers, he has found perhaps his best form, and has been instrumental in guiding the team clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, as well as helping them earn a spot in the Champions League group-stages.
And after enduring a miserable afternoon the last time he was playing for Celtic at Hampden, there will surely be few who will be more determined than Brown to make an impact on Sunday.
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