GRAEME Shinnie, the Aberdeen captain, last night hit back at Scott Brown, his opposite number at Celtic, and defended both his combative style of play and disciplinary record.

Brown savaged Shinnie following the final Ladbrokes Premiership match of the season earlier this month - he branded a late foul on him “a little boy’s tackle” and claimed his rival lacked the quality to compete by legitimate means.

However, the Pittodrie midfielder claimed his Parkhead counterpart should have been ordered off for an earlier challenge of his own and denied that he is a dirty player who deliberately tries to take out opponents.

“I’ve never had a red card, I’m not a loose cannon, I don’t lose my head, I don’t try and injure players or anything like that,” he said.

“It’s the way I try to get about the pitch and win the ball back for my team and with that comes consequences. It’s the way I play the game and the aspect of the game I love.

“There were a few nasty tackles in the game. There were a few from Celtic on us and a few from us on them. It was going both ways, but there was a big deal made out of mine, for what reason I don’t know why.

“Mine potentially wouldn’t have happened. Some people could say he (Brown) was lucky still to be on the pitch. I don’t know why there was a big deal made, but I’ve put it to the back of my mind and forgotten about it.

“It’s just the way I play the game and if you take that away it takes away the drive and leadership I have in the middle of the pitch. It’s important to lead the team and push them forward.

“I have to see where I can try and stay away from bookings, but most of the yellow cards in football come in the centre of the pitch where you have to do the dirty work.”

Asked about Brown’s derogatory comments about him afterwards, Shinnie said: “It’s just one of these things. He was maybe just trying to have a wee dig at me after what happened in the game. I’m a man and I can take that stuff. I’m tough enough to deal with that - I take a lot more stick off the boys in the dressing room.”

Shinnie admitted that he anticipates Brown will try to exact retribution for the challenge after the 2018/19 campaign gets underway in August – but stressed that he is looking forward to renewing hostilities.

“I’m guessing there will probably be some sort of revenge coming back at me,” said Shinnie from Lima as he prepared for Scotland’s game against Peru tomorrow evening. “I fully expect that. But I’m a man who can take that, it’s what happens, it’s competitive in the middle of the pitch. It’s the way Scott Brown plays.

“We’re very similar in terms of how we play the game. We’ll shake hands before the match and then the game is a war like it always is and then afterwards it’s done - that’s football.”

Shinnie stated that “what goes around comes around” in a television interview following a game against Celtic that Aberdeen won 1-0 to secure second place in the Premiership for the fourth season running.

But the 26-year-old, who is hoping to win his first cap for his country in South America tomorrow evening, revealed that he wasn’t referring directly to Brown.

“I made a comment that came out wrong,” he said. “During the game there were a few tackles made and mine was made out to be a lot worse than some of the other ones that had been made in that game. That’s what I was trying to explain.

“I have a lot of respect for fellow players and especially Scott Brown and what he has achieved in the game, I have total respect for that. I will always respect fellow players, especially someone who has captained their national team and a club like Celtic and the achievements he has accomplished.

“It’s what happens in football, there are plenty of bad tackles but once it’s finished it’s done and dusted. If it wasn’t, there would be a number of boys in the league coming for me!”