Scott Brown has opened up on the Celtic and Rangers transfer tussle that ended up with him knowing there was 'only one place I wanted to go'.
He went on to become a legendary figure at Parkhead and won everything on offer numerous times while also tasting huge European nights in both the Champions League and Europa League. His status and loyalty to the club will never be forgotten after a trophy laden 14 years in Glasgow's east end.
But things may have worked out very differently after Hibs accepting bids from both Old Firm clubs with the now Fleetwood Town boss meeting up with a Rangers entourage that included Walter Smith and Ally McCoist - a duo he knew from the Scotland national team set-up. But during his visit Tommy Burns was messaging him convincing him his 'heart' belonged at Celtic while McCoist was doing the same thing during a London meeting with the Hoops that included Gordon Strachan and Peter Lawwell.
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After that chat he knew the place for him would be Celtic Park and the rest is history as he opened up on that 2007 transfer saga that ended in £4million plus move to Parkhead.
Going into detail about the pitches from both clubs, he told the Daily Record: “Both bids had been accepted so it was up to me as to where I was going to go.
“So I went and met Walter and I went and met Ally (McCoist). I knew them from the Scotland set-up and obviously I knew Tommy (Burns) as well.
“When I went to meet Rangers I was getting text messages from Tommy saying, ‘Come on wee man, you know the place to go! You know where your heart belongs, I’ll look after you,’. It was the usual Tommy.
“Then I went to meet Celtic down in London and I was getting all the same stuff from Coisty! It was like you were jumping in between two of them - two great guys and two great coaches. I still get on well with Coisty now when I speak to him.
“But as soon as I went down, I spoke to Gordon (Strachan), I spoke to Peter (Lawwell) and I spoke to Tommy and I knew there was only one place that I wanted to go - the way they treated me and the way they saw me playing in the team. What they expected of me for the next four, five years of my contract.
“Gordon set demands on me straight away. He told me how to go and play in different positions. He said, ‘You’re not just going to run about like a headless case wee man. I’m going to turn you into a holding midfielder or an attacking midfielder - whatever you want. But you’re not getting a free role like you did at Hibs.
"You’re going to understand the game and you’re going to learn the game as well,’. For me to get that understanding from a top quality player as Gordon was - and a good manager as well, it meant a lot.”
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