Celtic boss John Kennedy has issued a stern defence of Scott Brown this afternoon following his side's bitterly disappointing 4-1 defeat at Ibrox.
The Hoops endured one more final humiliation at the home of their rivals, and remain a whopping 23 points behind Steven Gerrard 's side, thanks to two goals from Kemar Roofe, and strikes from Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe.
The result ensured the Hoops finished a season without beating Rangers at least once for the first time since the 1999/00 season, when John Barnes oversaw a similarly disastrous campaign.
It was the final time the fixture would see Scott Brown marshalling the Celtic midfield, with the 35-year-old struggling to contain Rangers' jet-heeled attacks on several occasions, but Kennedy has stood up for Brown in the wake of the embarrassing defeat.
Speaking after the full-time whistle, Kennedy insisted: "He won't be judged on that. It's not his fault.
"He has come here plenty of times and won. He's won many, many more trophies than a lot of people on the pitch today.
"Scott has had a terrific time at Celtic. This shouldn't be any sort of mark against him."
Celtic finish off their campaign with a home match against St. Johnstone, and a trip to Easter Road to face Hibs on May 15, when Brown will pull on the iconic green and white shirt for one final time.
