Heid: Broony's here for the long haul

Last updated : 05 January 2009 By Mikbhoy

Caldwell reckons that Celtic are a bigger club than most of those in the English Premiership and that Scott would do himself a disservice by considering a move to a smaller club. "The top four or probably five in the Premiership, if you include Aston Villa this season, are streets ahead of the rest." he said "Otherwise, the Premiership is hyped to be something it maybe isn't. There aren't many bigger clubs than the Old Firm, who would be up in the top four or five in England. There are some big clubs and the league is great, but so are the Spanish and Italian leagues."

The big defender doesn't think Brown will be tempted but he'd have no worries about the midfielder's ability to handle the move "Scott would be a natural down there but there's not much chance of anything happening." said Caldwell "He'll be at Parkhead for a long time. Maybe the Premiership clubs think they have first pick up here but manager Gordon Strachan and the people here will try and keep everyone they want and I'm sure the best players will stay even if January tends to be a crazy month."

Both players arrived at Celtic Park via Hibernian and although he's not the goalscoring threat that he was at Easter Road Caldwell still thinks Brown is a much improved player "I saw how good he was when he played further forward and scored a few goals." said Heid "But since then he has been fine-tuned and has improved as a team player. Before at Hibs he had a free role and was told to go out and express himself but when he charged forward it maybe caused problems for the side. Here we have to win things and he has to be part of a team and, along with playing for Scotland, has taken his game to another level."

As well as coping with a move to the champions, and all that such a multi-million pound transfer deal encompasses, Scott has had to deal with a personal family tragedy and the youngster has handled it all remarkably well "Scott had a difficult time last year for various reasons but he has matured and grown up and you can see that in his performances," said Caldwell. "I've seen a big improvement in him and he's been excellent for us this season. The disciplinary side of his game was something he had to work on because he picked up too many silly bookings for petulance. But he has cut them out and still managed to retain his character and drive so he has done well."

Gary himself thrives on the pressures of playing for Celtic "People doubt you but everyone wants to be challenged and that is why you go for it." he said "You talk about the Premiership in England but I spoke to Kenny Miller about this a while ago and he admitted he missed the pressure of losing a game and the world collapsing around you as it does with the Old Firm. When something goes wrong at these clubs it's well-publicised yet that pressure drives you to be the best you can be."

Brown himself spoke last night in order to distance himself from the rumours "I just keep going for the club. I'm a Celtic player and I'm enjoying it here." he said "It's fine if no-one's sold as I'm happy here. I enjoy winning games here and I look forward to the future. The thing is everyone wants to play Champions League and UEFA Cup football. We were disappointed we didn't go further this year but there's always next year."