Celtic captain Scott Brown has admitted that he lost his love for football after finding out that his sister had terminal cancer. 

The Hoops skipper revealed that it was Gordon Strachan and Peter Lawwell who kept the 33-year-old playing at the club. 

When asked how he managed to cope with finding out that his sister Fiona would not survive the illness, during his early days as a Celtic player, he told the Daily Record: “I probably didn’t deal with it very well over the first couple of seasons.

“But Gordon Strachan was always there for me, no matter what. Not that many people knew what was going on because we had kept things very quiet after the initial diagnosis."

Scott's sister Fiona lost her battle with skin cancer in 2008 at the age of 21. 

He admitted that during this difficult period football kept him going but at one point he had thought about packing it all in. 

He continued: "When she was going through it, I felt as if there was nothing I could do to help her.

“Then, eventually, you get the phone call to say its incurable. That there’s nothing they can do. How are you supposed to deal with words like that?

“I’ll be honest, I was like, ‘F****** football man, f*** this!’"

Scott explained that Gordon Strachan had agreed to keep him off of the pitch for a while when he was at his lowest point and Peter Lawwell was regularly phoning to check up him and offer support. 

Glasgow Times:

He added: “It’s probably why I have stayed here so many years because I have had offers to go elsewhere. But Peter and Gordon really helped me through a difficult time. I can’t praise Gordon enough for what he did for me."