Celtic legend ‘pondering’ shock retirement U-turn despite St Johnstone manager links

Former Scotland and Celtic captain Scott Brown is mulling over the decision to come out of retirement and return to the pitch, despite being tipped as one of the main candidates to take the vacant St Johnstone manager position.

The 38-year-old called time on his playing career in May 2022, two months after stepping out for his final match for Aberdeen. He had joined the Dons in a player-coach role, operating as assistant manager to Stephen Glass, but he left the club following the appointment of Jim Goodwin, claiming a coaching position would not be available under the Irishman.

Brown has recently been touted by bookmakers as the favourite to become the new manager of St Johnstone, following his recent sacking from Fleetwood Town. The former midfielder spent a year with the English League One side, but was dismissed last month after the team picked up just one point from their first six league fixtures of the new season.

Despite these managerial links, The Scotsman has reported that Brown is ‘feeling out the possibility of a playing return’ by joining League Two outfit The Spartans. His son is currently part of the Edinburgh-based team’s youth set up and Brown himself, impressed by reports of how the senior side like to deploy themselves on the pitch, has joined in with the training.

The 38-year-old trained with The Spartans first team on Tuesday night, just days after the capital side discovered their upcoming Scottish Cup opponents in the form of Arbroath.

Brown enjoyed a 20-year playing career, which started with Hibs back in 2002. He then went on to spend an impressive 14 years with Celtic, amassing a total of 610 appearances and contributing 46 goals and 63 assists, as well as 144 yellow cards in that time.