Scott Brown won his 18th major trophy with Celtic on Saturday.
It looks like Davie Provan, by his own admission, is not a big fan of Celtic captain Scott Brown.
Brown led Celtic to their eighth successive Scottish Premiership title on Saturday, leading the celebrations on the Aberdeen pitch following a 3-0 win at Pittodrie.
In doing so, the 33-year-old midfielder picked up his 18th major trophy since joining the Hoops from Hibernian in 2007.
The legendary skipper made headlines for the wrong reasons in March for celebrating an Old Firm win in front of the Rangers fans at Parkhead.
And despite his trophy haul, Provan, who spent nine years with the Bhoys until 1987, says that his behaviour on that occasion was ‘cheap’ and claims that Brown ‘has never lived up’ to what it means to captain the Scottish giants.
“If you’re Celtic skipper you’re supposed to lead by example, but Brown has never lived up to the armband. Sure, he broke no rules, but his behaviour was cheap,” he wrote in The Scottish Sun.
“You’ll have guessed I’m not in the fan club, but it would be churlish to dismiss his contribution to the club.
“But spare me the idea that having more caps than Bobby Murdoch and Bertie Auld makes him a top midfielder. Despite the silverware Broony’s piled up, he’s well down the list of proper Celtic players. Thanks to fawning media coverage, his reputation has always outstripped his ability.”
It’s an astonishing dig at Brown who is unanimously adored by the Parkhead faithful – and rightly so.
Eighteen major titles in Scotland does not lie. His medal count speaks for itself and although he occasionally adopts the role of wind-up merchant, he is most certainly among the club’s most popular players of all time, despite Provan’s suggestion.
If Neil Lennon’s side beat Hearts in the Scottish Cup final, Brown will have captained the club to the Treble Treble – a historic feat. There is no arguing with that.
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