Brown is no longer a certainty in the Celtic line-up and has faced criticism for several off-colour performances this season, with many fans feeling younger players should start in front of him.
Ismaila Soro played a few games ahead of Brown in recent weeks, but the midfielder was brought back into the team for the cup final and he played a key role in leading his side to their Scottish Cup triumph.
MacLeod insisted that the Celtic captain’s return for the cup final showed the importance of his personality on the pitch for big games and he indicated that the midfielder should start against Rangers.
He believes that apart from his experience, Brown is also going to play a key role in getting into the heads of the Rangers players, who have previously tussled with the former Scotland international.
MacLeod said on the Celtic Huddle Podcast: “If you are brought in for the cup final, people are thinking he must be the man.
“Cup finals you have got to win, big games you have got to win and if he is brought in for the cup final, he must be a winner.
“And we all know he is a winner.
“You need experience on the pitch going to Ibrox and by the way, Scott winds Rangers’ players up more than any other Celtic player.
“And that will come in handy in this game and even though there will be no fans, he will wind them up.”
Brown is likely to be itching to play against Celtic’s fiercest rivals as the Bhoys look to cut into Rangers’ lead at the top.
