Celtic: John Collins pleased to have captain Scott Brown back

Celtic captain Scott Brown made his return from injury on Saturday.

Celtic assistant manager John Collins says the return of Scott Brown is like adding three new players.

Club captain Brown returned for Saturday's 2-1 win over Aberdeen and flew out to Austria with the squad for the Europa League opener with Salzburg.

"It's great to have him back. Everyone who was at the game on Saturday will see he brings so much to the team," said Collins.

"His experience, legs, power, skill. He drives other players forward."

He added: "It's like getting two or three players back when Scott's back on the park."

Austrian champions Salzburg go into the game having lost three games in a row, however following defeats to Legia Warsaw and Maribor in the Champions League qualifiers Collins says no-one at Celtic will be taking anything for granted.

"If you make mistakes at this level you get punished," he said. "If you make mistakes in the SPL sometimes you don't get punished.

"The reality is in Europe you do so we've got to make sure we're tight, we're organised, when the chances come we've got to take them.

"We'll set out to try and win the game but I don't think a draw would be a bad result.

"It's not a knockout tournament, it's a group, so we'll have them all back at Celtic Park, but we want to win every game.

"We know it's going to be a tough match, they're a good football team. They've plenty pace in their team but we're getting fitter and playing better.

"I know they're very well organised, they play a high tempo game, they'll look to put us under pressure, and they've got good players.

"I don't think it'll be a volatile atmosphere. I think it'll be a good atmosphere which is exactly what the players want.

"I don't think we've a point to prove but we want to improve, we know we can play better than what we have been."