noelyf
VIP Member
SCOTT Brown will lead his side out at the national stadium on Saturday for the League Cup semi-final in what will be the first of two Aberdeen clashes in four days, but he’s determined to concentrate on one match at a time.
It’s a difficult period of the campaign for the Hoops as they take on two cup competitions and a batch of testing league encounters in a short space of time, but Brown is keeping his side focused.
The captain is relishing the pressure which comes with this heavy schedule and hopes to build on Wednesday evening’s convincing win against Hearts in tomorrow’s 3pm kick-off (Celtic Park time).
“This is an important stage of the season because we have seven or eight really hard games in quick succession just now,” he exclusively told the official website.
“It will be hard on our bodies but we’re just going to have to deal with that. We want to go on a wee run and take as many points and cup wins as we possibly can.
“We are just focusing on our own side because if we keep winning games it puts pressure on the other teams. It’s all about what we do more than anything else."
He added: “We’ve got Aberdeen in the semi-final tomorrow and I think that was a good draw. We know it will be a hard game but we play them three times in two weeks so at least we’re getting to know them pretty well.”
Brown knows Hampden better than most Celtic players, and aside of his international appearances for Scotland, the midfielder has also appeared in three cup finals there during his career.
His first medal was the League Cup in 2007 when he won it with Hibernian and he admitted it’s because of that success, the tournament will always be special to him.
He said: “I lost the final with Hibs in 2004 even though we managed to beat Celtic and Rangers on the way before getting Livingston in the final.
“But I won the cup with them three years later when we beat Killie 5-1 and that was a great day.
“That makes the competition a wee bit more special,” he admitted. “We also beat Rangers in my first final for Celtic.
“We left it late but it was a great finish by Darren O’Dea, and Aiden McGeady had been terrorising Rangers for the entire game, so it was good to see him score too.
“I’m no stranger to Hampden either and it’s a good pitch to play on. I have a lot of good memories at the stadium and I hope they continue in the semi-final.
“The League Cup will be the first final of the season and it’s massive for us. We want to win it because every tournament we play in is important to us.”