WHETHER they admit it or not, most Aberdeen supporters would have jumped at the chance to sign one of the most successful footballers this domestic scene has ever produced.

Scott Brown will join up at Pittodrie this summer to assist new manager Stephen Glass, while continuing his playing career. Nearly a fortnight on from producing a man of the match performance in the third Old Firm encounter of the season, he still evidently has much to offer on the pitch as he transitions to life off of it.

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The combative midfielder’s Parkhead career had looked to have fizzled out at points throughout the season, but that performance showed while he cannot go on forever, it would be naïve to write him off just yet.

However, performances aside, some fans had separate issues with the announcement of the Celtic captain. Namely, the fall-out from Aleksandar Tonev’s racial abuse of Shay Logan.

The Bulgarian winger arrived in Scotland on-loan from Aston Villa in 2014 when Celtic were under the stewardship of Ronny Deila. But he is not best remembered for positive contributions on the pitch. Tonev was banned for seven-matches after being found guilty of using “abusive language of a racist nature” towards Logan in a match between the two sides that Septempber.

Brown backed Tonev publicly, claiming that all the players in the Celtic dressing room believed his innocence, prior to his appeal of the charge which Tonev lost.

Logan has this week completed a loan move to Championship outfit Hearts for the remainder of the campaign. And, while it is unlikely the right back will prolong his seven-year association with the club when his contract expires this summer, it is a possibility the two could share a dressing room.

However, speaking last night at a virtual supporters Q&A, Aberdeen Chairman Dave Cormack addressed the incident and assured fans of the character they were bringing north this summer.

‘Tonev was found guilty of abusing Shay and was rightly punished,” he commented.

‘We as a club stood up for Shay. The only time Shay thinks about it is when others bring it up.

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"There’s no issue between Shay and Scott. Both are tough competitors on the field.

"Rightly or wrongly, players invariably support what their team-mates say to them.

"That does not make them guilty of the crime their team-mate is punished for.”

Brown was lauded for a pre-match gesture before the aforementioned match with Rangers this month. He sought out and embraced Glen Kamara during the warmup, after Kamara said Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela ‘racially abused’ him during a Europa League match.

"In Scott’s case, we all saw him in the spur of the moment go over to Kamara and show solidarity when Celtic played Rangers,” Cormack cited.

"Scott has led players of all backgrounds for the best part of 15 years.

"He is today different off the field to his on-field character as many people will know.

"The charitable work he does goes above and beyond. As such, the board is convinced of Scott’s character and credentials.”