Scott Brown has hit back at the Celtic fans who threw tennis balls at Dermot Desmond – and told them to keep their protests within football.
A group of supporters derailed the principal shareholder's round of golf at Dunhill by pelting the long-serving supremo with tennis balls in protest of his stewardship of the club. It came off the back of three successive defeats prior to the international break, twice against Rangers either side of a humbling Europa League loss to Ferencvaros.
Brown: Tennis balls don't help
Fans are raging about a perceived lack of investment and direction from the men in charge and haven't been shy in making their voices heard. But Brown reckons accosting Desmond during his private life crosses a line.
The former captain understands supporters' concerns but says that, from a players' perspective, the negativity doesn't help. And he's called on the board and the fans to come together to resolve the 'disconnect' that has become all-too apparent.
Speaking on The Warm-Up podcast with Kris Boyd and Chris Sutton, he said: "The tennis balls don't help. It wasn't great. You don't want that getting outside football."
"I've had it happen to me. You'll have had it happen to you as well in the streets, you get called all sorts. It has to be kept (within football). It can't be every two seconds because the man's got to live.
"If that was them (the fans), they wouldn't want it to happen to them. That's the only way I'd judge that."
Plea for unity
Brown added: "I understand the negativity coming towards the board, but they need to merge back together. The fans need the board, the board need the fans, and they all need the players.
"Somehow, if there's a disconnect somewhere, it becomes a hard place to play football, because it's just negativity week after week."
"Fans want change at board level? That's way above my paygrade. I'd love to sit here and say how that happens and how you can merge it together."
"For me, what the board did when I was there, they were brilliant. Peter, Michael, Dermot, they were all fantastic."
Transfer concerns
A sceptical Sutton then asked Brown if the board's approach has changed since he was there, and the legendary captain was reluctant to stick the boot in. But he does admit they missed a trick by not signing an outright replacement for Arne Engels or dependable backup for Kieran Tierney in the summer.
"The changing rooms have been done up! I wanted that for years but Peter wouldn't authorise it for me.
"But look, they're making the stadium better, they've put money into the team. They've signed three midfielders in Sorensen, Baur and Van den Berg.
"I agree they needed to replace Engels with a box-to-box midfielder. And I still think they need another left-back, because if Kieran gets injured, Scales isn't the answer at left-back."
