GRAEME SHINNIE was incredibly candid on OpenGoal sport when it came to an on the field rivalry which saw Scott Brown make it his personal mission to upset Shinnie after a bad tackle at Celtic Park.
Now playing for Derby, Shinnie reflected on what set the Celtic captain off and his post-match interview. The former Dons player spoke about the end of season game where Celtic were already champions and Aberdeen managed to beat the bhoys 1-0 to make sure they finished second above the other side in Glasgow.
A bad challenge by Shinnie saw the Celtic captain up in arms and threatening Shinnie on the pitch. Graeme doesn’t believe there was malice in what Scott Brown was saying and the Celtic stat was only too happy to wind Shinnie up at Pittodrie the following season.
“It all sort of stemmed from the bad tackle I done on him.
“We had to beat them to finish above Rangers that season and we were away to Celtic at Celtic Park.
“We were 1-0 up and I put in a horrendous tackle and I didn’t mean it. Like I wasn’t purposly going for him.
“I put in a bad tackle, I was late and I caught him in the ankle.
“He went mental. He was like ‘your legs are getting broken’.
“I had been called up to the Scotland squad in the summer and he was like ‘I’m coming out of retirement and I’m going to break your legs in training’.
“I love that kind of stuff. I don’t think he ever wanted to do it, like he was never that kind of guy.
“I done Sky Sports after the game and they obviously asked me about the tackle and what I meant to say was ‘there was loads of those tackles in the game’.
“In the end I’ve ended up saying something like ‘what goes around comes around’ and absolute killed myself.
“They pumped us 3-0 at Pittodrie and they battered us. The football they were playing was unreal.
“He came up behind me and whispered in my ear ‘do you want a touch of the ball wee man?’
“He plays the same way as I sort of play, we were bouncing off each other.”
A lot of players have tried to make a name for themselves in Scottish football by trying to take on Scott Brown. So many have failed, just ask Joey Barton.
On the field, Scott Brown is a warrior and takes no prisoners, he’ll give it back out and can take it in equal measure.
A Brain can always out wit brawn