To misappropriate a line from a Hollywood movie, if Scott Brown continues in his current vein he may well need a bigger boat.

In a season of both personal and collective success, the Celtic captain will net another two gongs to add to his burgeoning collection on Sunday when he holds the league Championship aloft – his eighth - before then taking another individual trinket after being named the Scottish Football Writers’ Player of the Year this season.

Brown has been inarguably the biggest fish in the pond but such is his authority at Celtic that it is easy to overlook the sharks who circled him towards the end of Ronny Deila’s reign in 2016. That Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers at Hampden has moved into Celtic folklore as the game responsible for bringing Brendan Rodgers to the club, but for Brown it was the catalyst for the form he has been in since the arrival of the Irishman.

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“We looked sloppy all over the park in the semi-final defeat to Rangers in 2016,” he reflected. “I have a lot of responsibility in the middle of the park and I didn’t turn up that day and feel like I could keep pushing myself. But it’s probably the best thing that ever happened to be, to be honest.

“I’m eating better, looking after my diet, and living better off the park. A couple of years prior to Brendan coming in training wasn’t as intense so fitness levels naturally went up. I was determined to prove a point to everyone because people were saying I was finished and that my legs were gone.

“I tried to be as fit as I could during pre-season but I got injured early on and then I really kicked on. I went back to Scotland and we did some running and I was flying and keeping up with some of the quicker ones and that showed I could keep pushing on.”

If Brown felt out of his depth in that game there was a feeling that he was not alone in treading water at Celtic. There was a malaise at the club and a feeling that Brown, among others, was reaching the end of his association with the Parkhead side. Invited to dinner in London at Rodgers’ home shortly after he had been unveiled as Celtic manager, Brown conceded that at best he felt as if he had two more seasons in his legs.

“When I first met Brendan I said I would manage two years maximum but he said if I got myself fit and looked after myself then we’d see how it went,” said Brown. It has went way better than either may have anticipated.

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The Celtic captain will celebrate his 33rd birthday next month just as Rodgers’ side prepare for a gruelling summer of Champions League qualifiers. Thoughts of bowing out have been thoroughly dispelled with Brown now looking at ways to elongate his playing career with former Scotland and Celtic manager Gordon Strachan’s philosophies featuring high on his agenda.

“Gordon played on until he was 40 eating bananas and porridge and James Forrest now has two bananas every day because I told him that story - and I didn’t even know if it was true! Gordon played in the English Premier League and it just shows you that if you look after yourself, continue training and don’t pick up too many bad injuries then you can keep going.

“People were talking about me retiring but there’s no chance of that happening in the next three or four years. As long as I keep producing the statistics I’m hitting just now and maintain my energy levels in the off season then I’ll go on as long as I can.”

Strachan’s influence was there, too, as Brown contemplated his career as the Rodgers revolution got underway.

“I spoke with Gordon,” he said. “I sat down and had a conversation and it was him that convinced me that just because I was 30 I shouldn’t believe everyone that says your legs have gone. For me, that was huge. When I went down and spoke with the manager, he said he wanted me in his plans for the next couple of years and to make sure I stayed injury free and as fit as I possible could be.

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“I went out and worked as hard as I possible could have. In the first couple of weeks I got injured. It was hard around then as in the first competitive game (against Lincoln Red Imps) we got beaten in Gibraltar. You’re thinking ‘Jeez we’ve got starred well against a part-time team….’

“Then our style slowly started to come through. Month by month, we started to get better. We understood every role and the way the manager wanted us to play.

“I wouldn’t say this is the fittest I’ve ever been but it’s definitely right up there. When I was younger I had so much energy I didn’t know what to do with it so I chased everybody about the park. Now it’s a different kind of fitness. For me it’s now about maintaining that and making sure I keep this level up for as long as I possibly can.

“I’m still enjoying it and I’ve won a lot of awards this season but the main thing is we’re playing good football and winning games. These awards still mean as much to me. In the last couple of seasons since the manager’s come in everyone has been on top form.

“I’ve enjoyed it and been injury free as well. That’s helped me get nominated for the awards, to be picking up trophies and to be playing as any games as I have done."