Remembering when Celtic's Scott Brown was cheered by both sets of fans - for the first and probably last time

It was fascinating to witness Stephen Glass’s first press conference as Aberdeen manager and hear him speculate – something he described as “a bit of devilment” on his part – over whether Scott Brown will play for Celtic at Pittodrie in midweek.

Scott Brown scores for Hibs against Celtic in May 2007 having already signed for the Parkhead club. He was cheered by both sets of fans

Glass took the opportunity to indulge in some early mind games before the league fixture on Wednesday by pondering whether Celtic interim manager John Kennedy would put Brown “in the position” of playing against Aberdeen the club he joins in the summer as player-coach.

As a good student of the game, Glass pointed out that it had been done before – when Charlie Nicholas played for Aberdeen against Celtic in the 1990 Scottish Cup final, scoring one of the penalties that saw his side win the shootout.

Nicholas had already re-signed for Celtic although it had not been officially confirmed. It will be interesting to note the Aberdeen fans’ attitude to Brown in midweek should he be involved. Of course, the fact their reaction cannot be gauged during the game itself is a huge source of regret.

It was fascinating and utterly surreal to hear Celtic fans cheer Brown at Easter Road in the last league game of the 2006-07 season, when he played for Hibs having already signed for Gordon Strachan's title winners. The home fans treated him to a warm send-off too.

Brown was still committed enough to score the last of 13 league goals for Hibs in a 2-1 win and got involved in a set-to with future teammate Darren O’Dea. Glass is probably right when he says he can imagine Brown “smashing” Aberdeen players over the head on Wednesday.

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