Celtic captain Scott Brown, one of the most decorated players in Scottish football history, has signed a pre-contract deal with Aberdeen and will join the club this summer on a two-year deal in a player-coach role; Brown has played more than 600 games for Celtic and won 22 trophies
Friday 26 March 2021 11:35, UK
Former Celtic and Aberdeen defender Jackie McNamara believes Scott Brown could return to Parkhead as a manager in the future.
Celtic captain Brown, one of the most decorated players in Scottish football history, has signed a pre-contract deal with Aberdeen and will join the club this summer on a two-year deal in a player-coach role.
The transfer brings to an end a 14-year stay at Parkhead which saw the 35-year-old play more than 600 games and win 22 trophies, including 10 Scottish Premiership titles. He has also played 55 times for Scotland.
"In terms of the coaching side of it, I think if he goes away and learns, he might come back to Celtic one day as the manager as well," McNamara told Sky Sports News.
"He's been a fantastic servant to Celtic. He's been a great captain and great leader. I think he'll be a big miss to the dressing room and to the fans, but I think he goes away with everybody's best wishes and hopefully he does well.
"Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon spoke very highly of him regarding the coaching side. I know he was doing coaching before Brendan came in and he stopped that to focus on his playing career, but I think doing this role at Aberdeen gives him a chance to put his foot into the coaching side as well.
"I think it's a good move for him and I think he's got the potential to come back to Celtic one day as the manager, definitely."
Brown was unable to lead Celtic to what would have been a record 10th consecutive Scottish Premiership title, and instead had to watch rivals Rangers end their decade-long wait for a top-flight crown.
McNamara says Brown's experience will be a significant loss to Celtic and believes the club need to replace him, as well as appointing a permanent manager, as soon as possible.
"He brings a mentality that's used to winning," McNamara added. "This year has not been successful in terms of the league, but Rangers have been very strong this year.
"Celtic need to regroup, they need to try and replace him with some strong characters in the dressing room and obviously, first of all, need to get the manager in place. That's going to be very, very important."
England's attacking coach Allan Russell is in negotiations over a deal to join Aberdeen as part of new manager Stephen Glass's coaching team.
Sky Sports News has been told Russell will only take a job at Pittodrie if he can continue his role with England, and that is a key part of the talks.
It is thought the FA would not have a problem with him doing both roles - England's senior goalkeeping coach, Martyn Margetson, currently shares his international duty with his full-time job at Swansea City.
Russell joined the Three Lions in March 2017, and he has gained an excellent reputation as a specialist attacking coach - he was widely praised for being the mastermind behind England's success from set pieces at the Russia World Cup in 2018. They scored a total of nine goals in the tournament from restarts - more than any other team in the competition.
Glass and Russell struck up a relationship when they played together at Carolina Railhawks in 2011, and now Glass wants Russell as the final piece of his new coaching setup at Pittodrie.
