Brendan Rodgers has given a cautious thumbs up to Scott Brown’s decision to maintain his international involvement, although the Hoops boss has made it known exactly where he stands in terms of the qualifier against England in June.

Brown has confirmed that he will be available for Gordon Strachan’s side for the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Slovenia, however there would be few would place a bet on Brown lining up in the Hampden tunnel when Scotland host England on June 10th.

The Celtic skipper entered into dialogue with both Strachan and Rodgers before making his decision and the Hoops boss has maintained that the final decision rests with his captain.

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It is fair to say, though, that Rodgers will have pressed home the necessity of Brown reporting for duty fit and ready to go for the critical Champions League qualifiers, games that underpin the entirety of Celtic’s season.

"We've had a number of conversations about it and I think Scott is clear in his mind what he wants to do,” said Rodgers. “His loyalty and support is with Gordon and he wants to help him the best he possibly can. We chat regularly.

“He's been in brilliant form the whole season. He looks after his body, he looks after himself. If selected, as I'm sure he will be, they will be better for having him in there.

"Scott knows my view on that [England game] and in terms of the longer term for him. So with that view, I would only leave it to him...that's it.

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“Scott knows my feeling on it. He's pivotal to what we are doing here. Listen, he's answering a duty to his country and he is an important leader and I can see why any manager would want him in their team.”

Brown had taken Rodgers’ advice on board back in August when he first made the decision to retire from international football just as the country were about to embark on the qualification process for the 2018 World Cup.

His brief exit – he returned in October for the game against England at Wembley – led to speculation about his long-term future with Scotland, although it would still appear that his involvement is very much on a game by game basis.

That has attracted criticism from some quarters but as brown juggles the demands of club and international commitments as he enters into the latter stages of his career, Rodgers can appreciate why Scotland are prepared to compromise.

“He's a real top performer and has been since the first day I came in here,” said the Celtic manager. “But I think after this game he will probably sit and look at it and see where it's at for a more definite period.

"I had a good chat with Gordon at the Tommy Burns supper night a few weeks back. Everyone knows his qualities, what he brings. I respect where Scott is at and why Gordon would want him to be here. Then let's see what evolves over the next few months.”

Meanwhile, Celtic return to the Highlands tomorrow night as they look to atone the only blemish on their otherwise pristine league record.

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Little drama is expected but having beaten Rangers on Friday night, Inverness might fancy their chances of another shock.

For Celtic, though, it is all about trying to elongate the current run of 21 consecutive league wins for as long as it can stretch.

“The last game up at Inverness is long gone,” said Rodgers. “We’ve played them twice since. It will be a tough game. They’ve shown a great reaction since losing 6-0 to us.

“Richie [Foran] will be delighted after showing real spirit with the draw at Hearts and a very good victory on Friday night so that will breed confidence for them coming into the game.

“We need to keep focusing on ourselves. We should have won in Inverness. It’s not like we were really poor in the game and were lucky to get a draw - we should have won the game.

“That has been the only blot in terms of the domestic record but it’s fine. We’ll go there and look forward to it and look to get the result.”