Strachan: Brown's reputation goes before him

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan claims Scott Brown should not be punished for past misdemeanours after the midfielder picked up a yellow card that is likely to exclude him from the Old Firm derby.

Brown was booked for a two-footed tackle on Thomas Scobbie as Celtic maintained their three-point lead in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League with a 4-0 home win over Falkirk last night.

That pushes the 23-year-old through the 18-point threshold and, because the SFA take into account a player’s record over two seasons, will see him miss two matches.

Those games will come after the SPL splits, meaning Brown is likely to miss the game against Rangers at Ibrox, as the SPL will schedule it early to avoid a potential title decider.

However, Strachan absolved Brown of any blame after his sixth SPL booking this season. Strachan feels the former Hibernian player, who was booked 14 times last season but just six times in the SPL, will be harshly punished after cleaning up his act.

“That’s the way it goes, that’s life,” Strachan said. “His discipline has been good this year. To get punished for things that happened years ago is hard to take.”