MARVIN Bartley believes the way his fellow Hibernian midfielder John McGinn handled playing in direct opposition to Scott Brown against Celtic on Sunday proved he is destined for the very top in the game.

McGinn, who helped the capital club come from 2-0 behind to draw 2-2 with the Scottish champions at Easter Road at the weekend, is set to be a key player for Neil Lennon’s side against Rangers once again this evening.

Brendan Rodgers, the Celtic manager, claimed afterwards that McGinn’s duel with McGinn had been a “no contest”, but Bartley felt his team mate had more than held his own with his older and more experienced opponent.

“McGinn is a strong boy and I think Brown realised that,” he said. “It was good for McGinn to play against someone who is so experienced and who has been at the top of the game for a long, long time.

“I thought McGinn gave a very good account of himself playing in a more advanced position than you would normally see, that was the game plan from the gaffer to stop Brown getting on the ball.

“We knew McGinn would work hard to come back the other way as well, where some number tens are only interested when you have the ball and want to stand around. So McGinn did really well against him, but Brown still showed he’s a quality player.

“John’s a very, very good player, I’m out training with him most days. I see that all the time, where some other people might see it only once in a while or on television.

“I think John can do whatever he wants to do in the game. He is a very level-headed boy and I think if he stays with the same mentality as he has now he can go on and do whatever he wants to do in the game.

“I think he has shown at a young age and playing against Scott Brown the other day he is more than capable talent-wise to do it, I think he will go on to have a magnificent career.”

Bartley, though, feels that Dylan McGeouch, the former Celtic player who completes the Hibs midfield trio, also deserves credit for how well the Easter Road club have performed since returning to the top flight.

“John’s a good player as is Dylan,” he said. “They are both really good players to play with. Sometimes I think Dylan goes under the radar, I think he is a special player. He hasn’t got a lot of hair, but he does have a lot of talent.

“I’m getting old now so I am more than happy to go under the radar and let the young boys express their talent. We’ve all got a part to play in that midfield and we play our part as a three.

“If we were all the same sort of players so if we were the same it wouldn’t probably work. They’re a joy to play with, McGinn is a bit more robust than Dylan in his style of play, Dylan gets on the ball and makes things happen. They’re both a joy to play with and I think they’ll both go on to have very good careers.”

Hibs beat Rangers 3-2 at Ibrox in a bad-tempered encounter back I August – a victory which Bartley felt gave his newly-promoted side the belief they could do well in the Ladbrokes Premiership in the 2017/18 campaign.

“Being so early in the season and going to maybe the second toughest place to go in the league and win was massive,” he said. “It was such a big thing. We went there and blanked it out and did it.

“I didn’t play in the game, but it made us feel confident within ourselves. We thought Rangers would be there or thereabouts so if we could stick on their coat tails then we wouldn’t be far off it ourselves. Now we go into this game knowing if we beat them we go level on points with them so that’s where we aim to be.”