Brown Proud To Lead Out Scotland

Photo by Jeff Holmes Scott Brown will be bursting with pride and emotion as he leads out Scotland for their European Championship qualifier against Republic of Ireland at Celtic Park on Friday night. Around 60,000 fans, most of them Tartan Army, will congregate in the east end of Glasgow as Gordon Strachan's side look to draw level on points with the visitors as they continue their quest to reach the France finals in 2016. Speaking at Mar Hall, the Scots' base on the outskirts of Glasgow, the 29-year-old Celtic skipper revealed just how much the national team's armband means to him. "It's the proudest moment of your career to be perfectly honest," he said. "To captain your country and to walk out to hear the national anthem being sung by 40,000 to 60,000 Tartan Army fans means a lot. "It's emotional to hear everyone up singing their heart out and knowing it's for you to go out on that park and try to win it. "It's going to be like a Champions League night and hopefully it's going to be entertaining. "The crowd gets you through the hard times. When you are defending and you think you're not going to get out, the crowd just spurs you on that little bit. "The Tartan Army have been doing that for years and they are always behind us, home and away." Despite his vast experience, Brown admits pre-match nerves still play a part on "great occasions". "Yeah, that's what makes it exciting," said the former Hibernian midfielder. "When you go out there you feel the hairs standing up on the back of your neck. "No matter where we are, the Tartan Army will follow us whether it's 60,000 at Celtic Park or 45,000 at Hampden it's going to be a great occasion. "Both teams want to play football and it will be a great game to watch. It would be nice if we could come out on top. "We're all looking forward to it in that dressing room.That is what all the lads have been speaking about. We can't wait."