Mark Brown (born 28 February 1981 in Motherwell) is a professional footballer currently playing for Scottish Premier League side Celtic.
Early career
Brown, a goalkeeper, previously played for Rangers, where he made five first team appearances as a young player, before moving on to Motherwell. Brown made 20 appearances with Motherwell before the club’s financial difficulties forced them into administration and was one of 20 players sacked by the club in order to lessen its wage bill.
Move to Inverness
Brown earned a contract with Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the summer of 2002 after impressing then-manager Steve Paterson, and quickly became an indispensable member of the first team squad. Brown has also played international football for Scotland at Under-21 level.
After joining Caley Thistle Mark Brown’s reputation as a talented goalkeeper grew, helped by his performances for the club in the Scottish First Division, the Scottish Cup and the SPL. The highlights of his career include a Player of the Round award from Scottish Cup sponsors Tennent’s in March 2003, after his performance in goal helped Caley Thistle to a quarter-final win against Celtic, and a call-up to the Scotland “B” squad, where he played part of the second half in a friendly against Austria in April 2005.
Transfer to Celtic
With Brown’s contract due to expire in the summer of 2007, Caley Thistle accepted an undisclosed 6 figure sum from Celtic for the goalkeeper’s services in January, rather than risk him leaving on a free transfer at the end of the season. The player joins the ever expanding list of players to have crossed the Old Firm divide and play for both teams – three of which are in the current Celtic squad.
Honours
Scottish First Division: 2003-04
Bell’s Cup: 2003-04