SCOTT Brown has offered a withering assessment of the state of the Hampden Park playing surface and said it will detract from the showpiece Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers. The Celtic and Scotland captain described the pitch at the national stadium, relaid earlier this month, as "bang average as always" in the wake of the international friendly against Denmark.

He also has concerns about the conditions he will discover when the two Glasgow giants lock horns on April 17, even if they should be markedly superior to the rutted, bobbly pitch he encountered during last February's League Cup semi-final showdown between the two teams.

"It [the pitch] was bang average as always," said Brown. "That’s what happens when you play somewhere that’s used week-in, week-out. You don’t see that happen down in England, but that’s football, and that’s good old Scotland for us.

"It probably won’t be the best [for the Old Firm semi-final]," he added. "We just have to accept that every time we come here and think the worst.

“It will [detract from the spectacle]. That’s the point, sometimes we’re the laughing stock when it comes to that. We can’t keep it in great nick all season because of the weather up here. We have to take that on board but it should be a lot better than it is.

“A new pitch always takes four to six weeks to bed in and it’s not had that time and it’s always going to be a bit slippy with bit of rain," he added. "But it’s a lot better than it was last year at this time. And if you can play in what we did against Rangers last year then you can play on anything.”

With the SFA's lease arrangement with Hampden Park due to expire in 2020, shortly after the stadium plays host to matches at that year's European Championships, all options are being considered when it comes to the long-term future of the national stadium. Whatever solution is found, Brown reckons finding a pristine playing surface shouldn't be impossible.

“Murrayfield is exceptional, it’s flat and it’s nice," he said. "When we played on that with Celtic in the Champions League qualifiers it was unbelievable, one of the best pitches I’ve played on."

Scotland's victory against Denmark on Tuesday night was their eighth from their last nine international friendlies, and the Scotland captain paid tribute to the two new starters in that game, his club colleague Kieran Tierney and John McGinn, man of the match on the night.

“The confidence is flying," said Brown. "This has given the gaffer [Gordon Strachan] a little bit of a headache now. In the two games we’ve played really well and some of the players that have come in have played exceptionally - especially Kieran Tierney and John McGinn tonight.

“I’ve seen John play lots of times and he’s very direct and has so much energy," added Brown. "It’s great to have him in the squad - he's a top quality player and a good guy as well. He’s got a better touch than I had! Especially when I was young I was more direct than I am now but he’s learning the game and he’s learning under a good manager in Alan Stubbs. Now he has come here and worked with Gordon Strachan as well and that’s going to help him more. The first five of ten minutes is always a bit emotional in your debut but he kept his composure well.

“Kieran just continues to improve all the time," he added. "Whether its top quality players he’s not bothered. Even at Celtic, he’s willing to tackle anyone. He keeps it easy, that’s what makes him a good player. He’s improving every day. He used to be a bit rash in training but now he’s trained with other first-teamers and he’s just thrived on it. The more managers and better players he works with the better Kieran will get. Him and John have different attributes but it’s great for us in that Scotland dressing room that we’ve got some good young players coming through.”