Inside Scott Brown's Fleetwood dressing room as Steven Whittaker reveals how Celtic hero is now a different beast

Despite being tipped to follow Brendan Rodgers back to Celtic as assistant, Scott Brown has remained very much his own man.

The Parkhead legend is about to embark on his second season in charge of Fleetwood Town. The first was all about quiet progression, a description that would certainly not have fitted a single one of his high-octane campaigns as a Celtic midfielder. But much has changed, as his own No.2 Steven Whittaker can attest after a year working with his old Hibernian and Scotland team-mate.

Whittaker has the inside track on how Brown has adapted to frontline management after cutting short his playing career at Aberdeen. The ex-Rangers full-back says his buddy is a different beast as boss. And, reflecting on their first year coaching together, Whittaker admits the transition has been impressive to watch. Whitts said: “Scott has done brilliantly in the job.

“He has brought a lot of how he played to management. He wants his team to be hard working, organised, honest. He’s probably a lot calmer in and around the changing room. But if someone needs telling then, just as he did as player, he’s not shy to do that.

“People saw him on the park as a player – in your face, up tight and into tackles. He expects his team to do all that. But as a person, off the pitch and when talking to the team, he’s calm and tactical.

“Everyone knows their roles and organisation within the team. He’s had to think about that side of things but has adapted extremely well. If you’re fair with him and doing what he’s asked of you the best you can, he will 100 per cent be fair to you. Those are the standards he expected from his team-mates throughout the years so he’ll be exactly the same as a manager.”

Brown instigated mid- season changes