Former Aberdeen striker Noel Whelan has criticised Celtic captain Scott Brown after his side's recent defensive record in all competitions, with him being dropped against Lille on Thursday.

Whelan not impressed with Brown

The 35-year-old is leading a Bhoys' side that is not performing up to the expectations of the supporters during the current campaign, who have been hugely unhappy with manager Neil Lennon as they sat 13 points behind arch-rivals Rangers before the weekend's action.

From 25 appearances this season, Brown has scored just once in all competitions and has picked up five yellow cards, which is more than any other players in the team (Whoscored).

But the Scot was dropped to the bench for his side's 3-2 victory against Lille in their final Europa League game, despite having been knocked out of the competition already.

Whelan was asked by Football Insider whether he was doing enough in the midfield for the Hoops this season.

“He’s in there to win battles, in there to command the midfield area, to get people going forward as a team but also to make yourself nice and strong and secure as a unit," he said.

“It scares me they’re getting through too easily, you can’t say you’re doing your job right if you’re conceding goals, it’s as simple as that.

“Players will be disappointed themselves, I’m very critical but you’ve got to be critical of yourself as well – could you do better, can I do better, am I at top of my game?

“No is the answer to all of that backline and the midfield in front as well, they’re not doing a good enough job protecting them – defensively, as a unit, they’ve got a hell of a lot of work on.

Whelan continued. “If there’s no fight in them, they’re going to struggle, massively. That’s what they need, pride in their own performances, fight not to let this happen again, fight between one another to dig out the best in one another.

“If you don’t have that kind of leadership in there, and that kind of weak mentality and weak players, then you’re going to be struggling massively, it could get a lot worse."

Transfer Tavern Verdict

Celtic are facing an uphill and need their key players to perform, especially the leadership qualities that we've seen from Brown over the years.

But the man who takes home £23k-a-week from Parkhead has not been performing, and Whelan is right. Brown must continue to lead from the front.

It appears that Rangers have got stronger while Celtic have got too comfortable, which has resulted in where the Bhoys find themselves.

In other news, talkSPORT pundit explains how there is still light at the end of the tunnel for Neil Lennon.