Scottish Premiership: Scott Brown predicts another three-way title race

Former Celtic captain Scott Brown has predicted that Scotland is in for another three-way title race this coming season. Speaking at the Scottish Open golf pro-am, Brown assessed the prospects for Celtic, Hearts and Rangers following significant managerial changes at two of the clubs.

Celtic retained the title on the final day of last season with a home win over Hearts to overtake the long-time leaders, with Rangers having slipped to third in the final weeks. The landscape has shifted heading into the new campaign, with Hearts losing head coach Derek McInnes to Rangers, who have replaced him with former Sint-Truiden boss Wouter Vrancken. Celtic, meanwhile, have given veteran Martin O'Neill the manager's job full-time after he impressed while in interim charge.

Brown expressed his view that all three clubs will be competitive. "I think it's going to be a three-legged race yet again," he said. He was complimentary about Hearts' efforts, stating: "I think Hearts have been an actual delight for Scottish football. They've done really really well. I thought Derek did a fantastic job and Martin's come in at the right point in time."

However, Brown believes McInnes's departure to Rangers could strengthen the Ibrox club. "If Martin was there for the whole time Celtic win the league nice and easy but Del's went to Rangers now and he's a very very good man-manager and he brings out the best of people," Brown explained.

The former Celtic skipper highlighted McInnes's recruitment strategy as a key factor. "Looking at what he does and how he deals with his team he'll bring in some more Scottish people English-based people that understand the club and the culture as well which to be fair I think Celtic's done really well over the years," he added.

With three strong managers now in place at Scotland's top clubs, Brown's prediction suggests a competitive campaign lies ahead in the Scottish Premiership.