Celtic star Scott Brown shares his biggest concern over international retirement

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The midfielder will no longer represent Scotland.

Celtic’s Scott Brown celebrates scoring their fifth goal

Scott Brown has revealed that the thought of letting down Gordon Strachan was the hardest part of his decision to retire from international football, in quotes published on celticfc.com.

The Celtic skipper made the official announcement on Friday, in a bid to prolong his club career, but was worried about the reaction of his former club manager.

Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi coming up against Celtic’s Scott Brown

“My body has taken a lot over the years. I have been playing international football for 11 years without a break at all really, season over season and the time has come for me,” said Brown.

“It’s a sad day as I really enjoyed playing for Scotland. The biggest thing for me was thinking about letting the gaffer down. He brought me to Celtic and he means so much to me. We spoke and he was wonderful to be honest.”

“Now I need to try and look after my body for as long as possible and try to play for this club as long as I can,” he added.

Gordon Strachan – Celtic Manager

Strachan took charge of the Hoops in the summer of 2005 and enjoyed four successful seasons in Glasgow, guiding the club to three league titles, three domestic cups and into the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time.

He signed Brown from Hibernian in 2007 and provided the platform for the energetic midfielder to become a mainstay at Parkhead.

Brown retires from international duty having earned 50 caps since his debut in a friendly against the United States in November 2005.

Scotland’s Scott Brown (L) and Croatia’s Niko Kranjcar in action

The Celtic captain can now fully focus his attention on club affairs, beginning with tomorrow’s Champions League Play-off second leg against Hapoel Be’er Sheva.

Brendan Rodgers’ men put themselves in a strong position with a 5-2 win in the reverse fixture last week, but they will need to be switched on to ensure they get the job done and reach the group stages for the first time since 2013.