THE second part of Celtic’s season began in typical fashion yesterday morning, if in untypical surroundings – with Scott Brown at the front of it.

While sub-zero temperatures set in back home in Scotland as Celtic’s Lennoxtown base resembles an abandoned shell at the foot of the Campsie hills, the club captain was leading the way as the early morning sun rose high into the crisp light blue Dubai sky.

Without a cloud in the sky, and just his training gear for protection from the humidity, the 32-year-old set the tone for what will be a week of work as well as relaxation here in the United Arab Emirates.

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With an early bleep test – an endurance sprint test where you have to run from one marker to another before hearing a beep with an increasingly reducing time gap – is not the most idyllic thing to be doing on your immediate return from a week off. Even if you are doing it with some warm heat on your back rather than a tammy on your napper. 

Yet for Brown, it’s just another opportunity to lay down a marker both to himself as a man a few months away from his 33rd birthday and to those expected to follow in his example.

“There were five or six of us left at the end. It then went up a level and we all dropped out at the same time,” explained Callum McGregor. “I was just happy to be one of the last to go.

“It was myself, Broony and KT with a couple of others. Everyone knows what the bleep test is like and there’s that competitive edge to go as far as you can go before dropping out.

“The Scottish boys know what it’s all about and even in training the standard is set by Broony and the Scottish ones, who are on it every day. That’s what you need, you need a good group of British-based players who want to work hard and set the tone for the other players. Everybody just follows on from that.

“We have obviously got Broony and he’s probably one of the best captains Celtic’s ever had and we’re lucky to be led by that. I can say from my experience that having watched him, and tried to take on everything he does, then hopefully once he goes I’ll be the next one to try to set the standards that he set for us as young players.”

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The phrase ‘one of the best captains Celtic’s ever had’ is one which shouldn’t be used lightly when you consider the competition. McNeill, Dalglish, McGrain, McStay, Boyd. All men who are rightly spoken about like members of the family to those who frequent Celtic Park on a bi-weekly basis.

A legacy of course can’t be evaluated fully until its complete, but already Brown deserves respect for the way he has emerged as a bright light in this Celtic team over the past 10 years. Particularly under Rodgers.

Supporters of other clubs may not agree, but irking the followers of other is probably the biggest badge of honour to bestow upon a captain who is still at the forefront of this Rodgers side.

“You don’t meet a lot of people in football who are as good as he is,” added McGregor. “If you are lucky enough to be part of that and be beside it then you have to learn from it. It would be a shame not to learn from it. 

“I’m trying to take as much as I can from what he does on the pitch and off the pitch and taking that into me as a person and go forward and try to lead the group as well.

“I think you will probably hear a lot more people speak about how good he is and the standards he sets every day. 

“Once he’s maybe finished you will see a lot more people speaking about him. You can tell when he doesn’t play in a league game then it’s that wee bit ‘off’ it, and when he comes back in you see the drive he has and the way he plays.

“I think you can see he is a fierce competitor. It’s hard to describe in terms of what he’s like as a person round about the place, it’s always about setting standards and everyone follows them. It’s a wee bit difficult to explain but he’s a top, top guy, probably one of the best captains Celtic’s ever had.

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“He was doing his coaching badges for a while and he was good, he did a couple of light sessions. I think he has definitely got that in him, he has that presence to definitely be a manager.”

Away from the subject of Brown, McGregor is comfortable with Celtic’s outlook as they aim to kick on again in the second half of the season. Morning sessions here in Dubai are being complimented by some downtime later to provide a balance of work and recuperation, a potent combination which worked so well a year ago. The Parkhead midfielder is confident of similar results 12 months on.

“It was the same last year when we came out here,” said the 24-year-old, who revealed the team were joined by Rodgers and ‘Wee Shug’ the kitman in the bleep test. “We worked hard in the mornings and had our down time in the afternoons to relax and enjoy the sun.

“But we’re here to work; I think because people see us in the sunshine they think it’s a holiday but that’s not the case. We know that when we get up in the morning we’re going to work and we’re going to work properly.

“I do think it’s important and that’s the way it’s got to be at Celtic. At such a big club, where the demands are so high, you need to put that demand on yourself. Even in something like a bleep test you want to be one of the top ones.

“That shows good character within the boys that we all want to push each other as hard as we possibly can do get better. We could come here and treat it like a holiday but that’s not going to happen.

“We have more to achieve as a group. That’s the key here and how the manager wants to work. He’s always striving to be better. Even if we win 3-0 he wants us to win by four or five. That’s just the way he is and it’s transferred over to the players.

“We’re not happy just winning, we want to in a good manner and in a good style. For me there’s more to come and we’re striding on to get better.”