Craig Levein has criticised Celtic’s Scott Brown following Hearts’ 3-1 defeat at Parkhead.
Craig Levein has told The Scottish Sun that he was “annoyed” with Scott Brown after his over-physical performance against Hearts’ youngster Harry Cochrane, and claimed that the Celtic man was out for revenge.
Celtic beat the Jambos 3-1 at Parkhead on Tuesday night to avenge their 4-0 mauling by Levein’s side in December, which ended the Hoops’ 69-match unbeaten run under Brendan Rodgers.
Cochrane left the field injured on 38 minutes and scans have confirmed that the 16-year-old will miss a few games with a shoulder injury, caused by Brown who fell on him after a tackle.
The highly-rated teenager had a stormer against the 32-year-old Hoops skipper during the defeat at Tynecastle, and Levein has suggested that Brown targeted the youngster to send a message.
“I think everybody should get a little bit more protection from Scott Brown. I was annoyed about that,” he told The Scottish Sun.
“I watched it back and I think Scott, after the game at Tynecastle when Harry bossed him, I think he decided he wasn’t going to let that happen.”
On the flip side, Cochrane will emerge from the battle a better player after experiencing the aggression that someone like Brown offers in midfield.
At just 16, it’s a very valuable lesson in his footballing education and the teenager will learn that he will come up against similar aggression in the future. How he copes with it might determine how good he is down the line.
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