Celtic's invincible season down to being the most dedicated team, says Scott Brown

The Hoops skipper says that this Celtic squad are the fittest collection of players in Scotland, and they have proven it throughout the course of the season by consistently scoring goals late on in games.

Almost a third of Celtic’s goals during the season came in the final 15 minutes of matches, with Tom Rogic’s last-gasp winner in Saturday’s Scottish Cup final the 42nd goal the have bagged in the closing stages out of 150 scored in all competitions.

Read more: What next for 'Magic Man' Tom Rogic after journey from Nike Academy to the top at Celtic?

And Brown reckons that the Celtic players can take pride from the work they put in to achieve what they did in the course of their dream campaign.

“I am proud, but it’s down to the lads who are at the club that I am still playing,” Brown said.

“They worked so hard throughout the season and dedicated themselves throughout.

“Whether that was [missing] nights out, or going into training because there were not that many days off. You don’t see your family as much, but the dedication has paid off.

“In the first six months, we had to get as fit as possible. We came back not the fittest and the gaffer was on about everyone’s body fat.

“We managed to get that down 10 or 12 per cent in the whole squad. That shows the dedication and effort that was put into it.

“The last-minute goal in the final showed our fitness. We believe that, no matter how fit anyone else is, our fitness is better. We showed that all through the season in various games and we’ve dug ourselves out of a few holes.

Read more: What next for 'Magic Man' Tom Rogic after journey from Nike Academy to the top at Celtic?

“The gaffer stuck to his ways and he’s wanted us to play good, attacking and attractive football.

“We managed to do it through the season and got ourselves a lot fitter than we have ever been.”

Brown believes that the way Celtic took control of the Scottish Cup final in the last 20 minutes was the perfect example of how their conditioning dwarfs that of their rivals.

And he praised goalscorer Rogic for proving critics of his own fitness wrong with his run and finish deep into injury time.

“We were creating chances in the second half,” he said. “Fair play to Aberdeen, they gave it everything, but we came straight back after a losing a goal.

“I was getting ready for extra-time, but it just shows Tom’s fitness. People say he’s not the fittest, but he was still going strong and putting energy into running defenders into the ground and finishing with his bad foot in injury-time says it all.

“Turning up on big occasions, we thrive on them.”

Brown was delighted to receive his Scottish Cup winners medal from Lisbon Lion John Clark last weekend, but the club’s future as well as its past was uppermost in his thoughts even straight after the final whistle.

He knows that Celtic are unlikely to ever emulate the achievements of Clark and his European Cup-winning teammates, but he hopes his own team will be similarly remembered in years to come.

Read more: What next for 'Magic Man' Tom Rogic after journey from Nike Academy to the top at Celtic?

And in the immediate future, he already has his sights firmly set on the Champions League qualifiers in July.

“John Clark giving out the medals at the end at Hampden was great for him and for us,” said Brown.

“He’s still in there, still doing his kit and he loves the club. For us to do something and, hopefully, be remembered in 50 years’ time like Clarky and his team were over the course of the week is a phenomenal feeling.

“The season will go down in history and it is going to be hard for anyone else to emulate.

“But we have a tremendous bunch of lads and you could not ask for it to happen to a better group.

“That goes for everyone at the club, not just the players. The backroom staff, everyone. For us as the players, of course it is special. If someone does it again in the future, fair play to them.

“Next season is the big one. We have Champions League qualifiers early doors, so we need to be ready.”