Scott Brown’s turbulent first season with Celtic was perfectly summed up in the misplaced pass he struck to Marius Niculae on Wednesday evening, an error that granted Inverness Caledonian Thistle a late goal in the champions’ 2-1 victory and duly triggered much unease, not to say audible anger, around the Celtic Park.

“We won the game and I got an assist,” Brown quipped yesterday, happily shrugging off the moment. He is a footballer, however, who has been made to know all about the whims of fate and fortune since making a £4.4 million move to Celtic from Hibernian last summer.

Today, Brown returns to Easter Road with Celtic in an increasingly tense and exciting Clydesdale Bank Premier League chase, and the midfield player will once more come under severe scrutiny. The Scotland international, some believe, has not justified his expensive price-tag of eight months ago, and Brown himself admits to having to adjust to life at Celtic. For one thing, the sheer welter of games – in the Premier League, the Champions League and the domestic cup competitions – appears to have startled him.

“I’ve not played as many games as this before in my whole career,” Brown said yesterday. “It is hectic – it’s Saturday-Wednesday or even Sunday-Tuesday. I felt very fit at the start of the season but I’m not used to the number of games I’ve played so far. But I still feel fine, I can still go for 90 minutes.

“Apart from the games, the difference at Celtic is 60,000 people. There is a lot more pressure on you. The fans expect you to win, and you have to win, because you have to win the title for them. The supporters get a bit tense, and when that happens, we get a bit more tense as well. It can happen during the last five or ten minutes of matches, and when it does, the lads can feel the pressure a bit more.

“And let’s face it, the pressure is only going to get more and more, with 12 games or so left of the season and Rangers being four points ahead. The pressure is on us more than it is on Rangers, so we have to peg them back. We’ve still got to face them three times, so hopefully we can take nine points from there.”

It is always intriguing to ask a player about perceptions of his own form. While the newspapers and radio stations have been blasting hot air about Brown’s play, the midfield player himself seems slightly oblivious to the debate. But it has been raised again since his gaffe on Wednesday night in presenting Niculae with his goal.

“That was a moment of madness, when I got stuck in two minds and didn’t really know what I was doing,” he said. “The moment I passed the ball I knew where it was going.

“But I think I’ve settled in well at Celtic and not done too badly. I think I started off brilliantly – everyone at the club did – but then hit a dip and am now starting to go back up again. I’m not saying I’ve been great – you can always do better in games. So I’m hoping to do a wee bit better between now and the end of the season.

“If you hit a dip you just have to go away and try harder. It’s the same for everyone. If you give 110 per cent in every game, then eventually you’ll get your form back, you’ll get your touch back, and your goals back as well.”

Brown was a favourite son of Leith, lighting up a bright young Hibernian side that was eventually sold off, asset by asset, to reduce the club’s debt and help to fund their new training complex. Even today, the Hibernian fans won’t fully be able to abuse Brown, knowing how much he gave for the club.

“I think every player enjoys going back to their old club, so it should be fun,” Brown said. “The fans were good to me in the five or six years that I was at Hibs, so I’m looking forward to it. They were also good to me last season, even after I’d signed for Celtic. Earlier this season when I went back the reaction was also good – there was even some applause when I ran out, so you can’t expect more than that.”

In truth, it is more applause at Celtic Park that Brown is still striving for.