Scott Brown swapped Celtic baggy jeans for an untouchable legacy as Gordon Strachan has the definitive word on 'a giant'

Aberdeen's carefully worded statement stopped just short of saying that Scott Brown ’s playing days are officially over.

But even if the 36-year-old is not yet ready to confirm his boots are being hung up for good, deep down he knows that he’s finally reached the end of the road.

The shaven headed war dog of Celtic ’s historic run to nine successive top flight titles didn’t envisage it would end this way when he swapped Parkhead for a long goodbye at Pittodrie.

In fact, in the final analysis, it wasn’t even half as long as he expected it to be.

But when the final 12 months of his two-year deal with Dons was terminated yesterday afternoon, Brown was also leaving behind a glittering on-field career.

A career that began with a red mohawk and a notoriously angry attitude during his breakthrough seasons at Hibs.

But one which, ultimately, saw him become one of the most single decorated players in the entire history of the Scottish game. And one of its most larger than life characters.

As Gordon Strachan - the man who signed him for Celtic all those years ago - said to Record Sport : “The game is going to miss having a player like Scott around.

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“And it’ll be the same across the Scottish media