Scott Brown: Celtic captain should be emulated, not envied - Brendan Rodgers
Last updated on .From the section Celtic
Players in Scotland should aim to imitate Scott Brown instead of being jealous, says Celtic's Brendan Rodgers.
Brown's manager was discussing the fall out from Ross County defender Andrew Davies' challenge on the Celtic captain at the weekend.
That looks unlikely to be punished further by the Scottish FA.
"He's a player that, instead of being envious of, needs to be emulated in terms of his qualities," said Rodgers of the midfielder.
The former Liverpool boss says the midfielder would make it at the very top of the English game but cannot understand why he is singled out for criticism in Scotland.
"In the time I've been up here, there's been a lot of envy towards Scott Brown," he said as he looked forward to Wednesday's Scottish Premiership visit by Dundee.
"I see it in certain media sectors. I see it in the playing sector and I see it in managers also.
"I think what rarely gets talked about is how good a player he is.
"I've been lucky enough to work in the English Championship, in the lower Premier League and at the top of the Premier League and this is a player who goes right in at the very top."
Rodgers compared the abuse Brown receives to that endured by Barcelona's Luis Suarez when he managed the Uruguay striker at Liverpool.
"Yes, he's one of those characters," the Celtic manager said. "I had it with Luis Suarez.
"Every ground he went to, Luis always got it because of his performance levels and Scott is the same."
Rodgers admitted to being surprised that no retrospective punishment will be added to Davies' red card - and two-match suspension - during Celtic's 3-0 home win.
"If the authorities deem that to be violent rather than excessive misconduct then we have a problem, but that's for other people to decide," he added.
