Celtic captain Scott Brown has insisted that there is no chance of him going back on his decision to retire from international football.
The 31-year-old brought an end to his 11-year spell with Scotland last week, hanging up his boots having made 50 appearances for his country.
Brown has now revealed that he made the decision in order to prolong his club career at Celtic and is looking forward to having more free time on his hands.
"My body has taken a lot over the years. I have played international football for 11 years, not any break at all really, season after season. The time has come for me. It's a sad day, I really enjoyed playing for Scotland all along. I think the biggest thing for me was to think about letting the gaffer down. He brought me to Celtic at the time and he means so much to me," he told reporters.
"We spoke and it was wonderful to be honest. I need to look after my body and try to play at this club as long as I can. I have had a great pre-season, I had five weeks off in the summer and my body is feeling good. It has probably been five or six years since I had a break like that. My legs are feeling fresh and hopefully now I can push on.
"Once my mind is set that's it. For me there's no going back. I am quite stubborn that way. It is good timing for everyone I think. I have not seen family, or chill-out time so I think it is a good time for me to call it a day. I just want to push and prolong my Celtic career as much as I can."
Scotland boss Gordon Strachan named his first squad of the post-Brown era earlier today.
Barney Corkhill
