Former Motherwell star Stephen Craigan thinks Celtic can do without skipper Scott Brown in domestic games, but struggle without him in Europe.
Brown has been laid low with a knee injury and has missed the last few games for Celtic in all competitions as he looks to recover and return to the team as soon as possible.
While Celtic have returned to form in fine fashion domestically despite Brown’s absence, the story has been completely different in Europe, where they are fighting for their lives.
The Hoops lost both their Europa League games without the club captain and Craigan feels the midfielder’s combative style in the middle is being sorely missed in Europe.
He feels Celtic can get away without him in Scotland as they dominate the ball in most games but in Europe, the game changes for the Scottish champions.
Craigan said on BT Sport when speaking about Brown’s absence: “They can get away with it domestically because they dominate the ball more.
“Callum McGregor can pick up the ball and do that.
“But in Europe, at Leipzig, you can see they missed that enforcer, someone who can get a hold of the ball and even make a simple four or five yards pass to take you up on the pitch, instead of turnover and turnover.
“I think domestically they can get away with that.”
Brown may also not be fit for Celtic’s must-win game against RB Leipzig on Thursday at Parkhead.
