Scott Brown still grinning at 'petty' Rodri rant as Celtic hero applauds wind up he'd be proud of

Scott Brown always loved it when a rival player took the bait. So the wizard of wind-ups was wowed by Scotland landing a big catch with Spain’s sore losers.

Broonie is looking forward to watching the Scots build on a bright qualifying start this weekend against Norway before hosting Georgia. The former national skipper couldn’t be more confident because he reckons this Steve Clarke squad is so streetwise. Brown savoured seeing Scotland slaying the Spanish at Hampden in March as a major boost for our Euro 2024 hopes. But he also applauded his old colleagues for antagonising a major opponent.

Rodri’s infamous post-match rant about tactics and timewasting was music to Brown’s ears. The Manchester City ace also complained he and his pals were provoked in the 2-0 defeat. That told Brown that Scotland not only have the quality but the big-game mentality now to succeed at the top level. He said: “I really enjoyed the win over Spain. But I actually enjoyed the comments after the game from the Spanish lads even more!

“I’d love to have seen them play us about 10 or 15 years ago – because we were much more like hatchet men back then! But our lads try to play and we have some fantastic players who are performing in the Premier League.

“Probably most of those comments were actually disrespectful to Scotland. Sometimes you get beaten by underdogs but you can’t be that graceless. Those were small and petty words. But that put a smile on a lot of Scottish people’s faces – including mine. It’s clear this Scotland team isn’t here to make up the numbers. You want to get body contact, you want to do the nasty parts of the game.

“Yes, when we play teams like Spain they’re going to have lots of possession. And we can’t just let them play