GORDON Strachan last night claimed that Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha helped Celtic captain Scott Brown to raise his game at Ibrox on Saturday by squaring up to him on the touchline at half-time.
His comments came after Brendan Rodgers had taken a thinly-veiled swipe at his opposite number by expressing surprise he hadn’t already made his way down the tunnel to the dressing room.
The Portuguese coach was incensed at a Brown challenge on Alfredo Morelos shortly before that and confronted the midfielder, who he believed had elbowed his striker, as he came off the park.
SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan has reviewed the flashpoint and decided the player has no case to answer – and no other incidents in the Old Firm match will be punished retrospectively either.
The Premiership clash was deadlocked 0-0 when the altercation took place, but Brendan Rodgers’s side, with their skipper at the heart of all their best play, eased to a 2-0 win in the second half.
Strachan, who yesterday named Brown along with five other Celtic players in his Scotland squad for the Russia 2018 double-header against Slovakia and Slovenia next week, believes Caixinha simply succeeded in making Brown perform better.
“There are some players who, if you make them angry, they get better,” he said. “There are some players – and I’m not just talking about Broony – that making them angry makes them better. They become more focused.”
Rodgers admitted he found the square-up “surprising” and strongly backed Brown who didn’t back down when approached by Caixinha.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Rodgers said: “Obviously I was surprised when I saw it because at half-time as a manager you want to get in a quick as you can because it’s a vital period for you, to get your message to your players and get ready for that.
“I think Broony has been outstanding since I’ve been here, especially in all seven of the Rangers games. He is a big game player and in particular at Ibrox he’s been outstanding.
“Like I say, it’s not something you really want to see, to be honest. As a manager you want to get in and get your work done and get the message to your players. Broony was brilliant in the game and he’s a good guy.”
Scotland can finish second in Group F and secure a Russia 2018 play-off spot if they win their last two qualifiers against Slovakia at Hampden on Thursday week and then Slovenia in Ljubljana three days later.
Strachan believes that Brown, who came out of international retirement before the game against England at Wembley in November, showed in Celtic’s comfortable win over Rangers on Saturday that he has the ability to rise to the occasion in the double header.
“He wouldn’t be still here if he didn’t have that,” said Strachan. “He’s got big games all the time at Celtic, that’s one thing you can guarantee, whether it’s in the league, European games, Old Firm games or whatever.
“You don’t last that long unless you can deal with big games. Some players go to Celtic and can’t deal with big games. He never had that problem.”
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