Scott Brown is ready to quit international football rather than accept a fortnight’s holiday.
The Celtic skipper missed out on two friendlies at the end of last season and has been enjoying the form of his life under Brendan Rodgers.
That led him to retire from Scotland duty but after a three match absence he was back in Gordon Strachan’s side that lost to England at Wembley.
Scotland don’t play again until the end of March but yesterday Brown dropped a strong hint that he’ll put a proper holiday and his club career ahead of Scotland duty.
“For me, it’s not about holidays, it is about rest,” he explained. “I had six weeks off in the summer and it was the best I’ve felt when I came back.
“If I go away with Scotland, we play England on June 10 and then are back in here on June 20.
“I need to be a bit selfish. I need to think, ‘Can I make this game, have ten days’ holiday and push on from there or do I take four weeks off and see how my body is.
“I am not getting any younger so we’ll just wait and see what happens.
“I would never have come back for any other manager. I’m very stubborn that way.
“I’d have sat there, said ‘No’ and made sure that my body was right for Celtic.
“Celtic were the ones who put me on the field and made me available for Scotland in the first place. I have got a lot to thank them for.
“It’s kind of a hard one because me and Gordon are so close. You want to keep the wee man happy but I’ve got to be selfish sometimes.”
Brown will face one of the toughest games of his Celtic career tonight as he attempts to drive his side to victory against a side that crushed the hoops 7-0 two months ago.
The memories of that night in the Nou Camp will drive the hoops skipper on with a win required against Barcelona or Manchester City to give Celtic a chance of overtaking Borussia Monchengladbach for a Europa League spot.
