Pundit Davie Provan has hit out with needless stinging criticism of Celtic captain Scott Brown, less than 24 hours after he helped the Hoops win an eighth successive league title.
Brown won his 18th trophy with the club this weekend, 16 of which have been delivered while captain, but Provan has somehow decided this is deserving of critique rather than praise.
Writing in his Scottish Sun column, the Sky Sports commentator said:
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.
In a league where serious opposition has been absent for most of his Celtic career, he won the lottery when signing for Gordon Strachan. There was never a better time to join Celts.
If Brown isn’t among the most gifted Celtic captains, he has to be the luckiest.
How many of his predecessors have had it so easy? Certainly not the one we lost last week.
It’s a bizarre rant and pretty low to compare him to the late, great Billy McNeill, who only passed away recently.
I don’t think anyone has ever tried to compare Brown to the iconic Hoops legend and obviously rightly so. Why Provan feels the need to use that as a stick to beat Brown with is beyond me.
From a former player it’s an especially bitter tirade but of course it will all be water off of Brown’s back, who is well used to strange criticism and punditry.
I wonder if Provan will use upcoming potential Scottish Cup success as another weapon against the Hoops captain?
What did you make of Provan’s comments? Have your say in the comments below…