The captain's position at any football club is an honour for any footballer to hold, it is a position that commands respect and is one of the most important roles within a club - unless you are Paul Le Guen.

In recent years, Celtic have seen two captains of inferior quality in the guise of Stephen McManus and presently Scott Brown. Neither should have been handed the captain's armband at the Parkhead club for various reasons, but with Scott Brown in the process of re-negotiating a new deal, stalling only due to his agent's demands, maybe its time the club took a step back and decided to cash in on the 26 year old.

A newspaper report earlier this week linked English Premier League side Newcastle United with signing Scott Brown, despite the midfielder agreeing to sign a new four and a half year deal. But with collapse of the talks, Alan Pardew has been alerted, in the hope of snapping up the Celtic skipper for nothing come the end of the season by signing a pre-contract deal with the Scotland international.

If I was in charge of the wheeling and dealing at Celtic, I would cash in on Brown now. Offer Brown in the January transfer window for a knock down price to move him on and free up his wages.

He has only played five games this season for Celtic after picking up a recurrence of an injury in the first Old Firm derby of the season in September, which Celtic lost 4-2.

But do Celtic really need Brown? They have certainly managed to live without him for much of the season so far and it is safe to say that they can see out the remainder of the season without him also. The likes of Joe Ledley, Ki, Beram Kayal and James Forrest have become Neil Lennon's first choice midfield quarter and while Brown is the manager's favourite, bringing the former Hibs player back into the side would, in my opinion, throw a spanner in the works.

Who would Lennon drop?

If Brown was to return to the fold then I can only envisage James Forrest dropping out, despite him being Celtic's best player this season, as this was the usual scenario when Brown came into the side. Such a change would damage Celtic's ability to attack both at pace and in creativity, therefore Brown could only slot into the centre of midfield and again it would mean either Ki or Kayal being dropped. Again not a decision that should be made.

For Brown his leadership skills are suspect, his desire, fight and ability in a Celtic shirt is significantly less than what he puts in when he dons a Scotland jersey, and certainly he was never worthy of following in the footsteps of Billy McNeill, Paul McStay, Paul Lambert and Neil Lennon as Celtic captain.

Brown in my eyes is surplus to requirements and with his advisors demanding a fee on top of the money they earn anyway, the club should show Brown the door rather than being held to ransom.

The money saved on his wages and brought in from a transfer fee, could give Celtic some much needed funds to bring in one or two players to bolster the Celtic squad.

Ideal candidates would be Jamie Murphy from Motherwell and take advantage of the financial issues at Tynecastle to snap up David Templeton to add more creativity to the side.

This season will define whether Neil Lennon keeps his job as Celtic manager or not, with securing the SPL title a must. The manager needs players 100% fit, hungry, determined and above all to bring something exciting and effective to the team - does Scott Brown bring any of that when he takes to the field as a Celtic player?