Celtic and Scotland captain Scott Brown has announced his international retirement as he feels he can’t keep up the commitment of playing for club and country at a 100 per cent.
Brown, 31, has been an important figure in Scottish football over recent years, and led the national team ably despite Scotland never qualifying for an internaitonal tournament during his career.
Still a pivotal figure for Celtic, the midfielder feels that with his fitness issues he cannot hope to continue playing for club and country this season as he believes his body won’t be able to cope with the pressure.
And since he is not keen to either disappoint his club or country, Brown feels the time is right for him to draw the curtains on his international career, and concentrate on playing for Celtic moving forward.
The midfielder told Scottish FA’s official website: “[Scotland manager] Gordon [Strachan] has been one of the most influential people in my career and I did not want to let him or my country down but over the summer I had a lot of thinking to do.
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“It’s no secret that I’ve suffered some injuries in my career and once you get over 30 you have to protect your body more, in any case.
“I’m not the type of player who can coast half-heartedly through a game – I give 100% every time.
“Given the importance of this campaign for Scotland, and the challenges ahead at Celtic, I simply felt that I could not keep up both commitments without either my performances or recovery time suffering.”
Brown made his international debut against the United States in 2005, and in his more than decade long career with Scotland, he earned 50 caps for his country.
He made the decision ahead of next week’s squad announcement for Scotland’s World Cup qualifier against Malta in September.
