By the end of the month we should know exactly where Scott Brown will be playing his football next season.

And my money is on it being at Celtic Park.

Let’s be honest, if Scott made himself available right now for international duty then Alex McLeish would bite his hand off to get him into that Scotland midfield.

I also think that if he did make himself available right now that there would be clubs down in England who would still fancy a crack at Brown.

He is fit, he has looked after himself well, he has a good engine, he has a ton of top level experience and he is a proper captain, a real leader on the pitch.

Who was it that jumped to the rescue of Emilio Izaguirre on Saturday as the Airdrie players circled him in the penalty area? It was Brown who got in amongst the seven Airdrie players to stand up for his mate and that is what he brings all the time. And, incidentally, it was a penalty.

But to go back to Brown.

He is settled in Edinburgh. He will play at Celtic. His relationship with Brendan Rodgers is water-tight. He has played the best football of his career under the Celtic manager and I think that ultimately when he weighs it all up that he will decide that he wants to stay and continue his 11-year association with the club.

I think his status at the club is secure regardless of what his next call is.

I was in Australia as a guest of the Perth Celtic Supporters Association recently and it is a beautiful country. The people were great and I can understand the appeal of the lifestyle over there.

But it is a long way from home.

I could well end up with egg on my face here but I just think that Brown will take Celtic up on their offer.

And I think that the club need him this season more than ever.

They are in a race for the title and you need players of Brown’s ilk in there.

I also think that if there is a genuine offer for Olivier Ntcham that, if Brown has offered an assurance that he is staying at the club, that Celtic might well allow the midfielder to go.

I think he is a quality player. He really looked the part when he first came in and at £4.5m it was a fabulous bit of business.

But if Porto want him as much as they appear to then it could be that the club allow him to go.

They would bank a considerable profit for him but it will come down in part to what Brown is deciding comes next for him and also just where Brendan sees him fitting in and how important he believes him to be.

In any case, though, there is still time for Celtic to get some players out who are on the periphary of things - and more important get another couple in.

I think you could see the lift that Timothy Weah gave the team and that is exactly what can happen when you bring fresh legs in.

There is just over a week left in the window and you would think that the fans will get another couple to see a team that is refreshed and energised now.

These next few weeks give Celtic the ideal chance to kick on and properly use that home advantage that they have. They need to make it count and start to put a bit of daylight between them and everyone else.

I thought that Oliver Burke struggled to impose himself in that striker’s role at the weekend and I suspect that there might be a change of plan for tomorrow night’s game.

I saw a fair bit of Burke when he was just starting out in his career and his best position is driving forward from the middle. He is far more effective there rather than with his back to goal. He has pace and he has power and if you get him running at people then he will cause problems.

But it is early days for him. He has not played an awful lot of football and you need to be patient with him as he builds up his fitness and his confidence.