Paul Hartley sees shades of Celtic skipper Scott Brown in Aberdeen's Lewis Ferguson

Hartley, though, is in no doubt that the combative midfielder should get the nod from his manager against the Dons today – and reckons Brown’s absence from the starting XI last week was simply down to Neil Lennon keeping his inspirational skipper ready for today’s challenge.

"Scott would be in my team,” Hartley said. “He's the captain and he's the leader. He's been there, seen it and done it.

"People probably made a big deal about him not playing on Sunday but sometimes when you get to a certain age, you can't be in the team all the time. Scott played against Rangers and Milan. To go in against Aberdeen again wouldn't have been easy.

"I always found it tough after European games on a Sunday, so sometimes you just need to be taken out for a rest. Neil obviously looked at two big games for Scott and then the third, and took him out to look after his body.”

Hartley is convinced that his old team-mate will play a big role against Derek McInnes’ side this afternoon, but he says there’s another player who will be on the Hampden turf today who reminds him of Brown: Aberdeen midfielder Lewis Ferguson.

The current Cove Rangers manager says he can see similarities between Ferguson and the Celtic captain – and reckons it is only a matter of time before the 21-year-old gains international recognition.

"Lewis has a really good mentality and is now adding goals to his game too,” Hartley pointed out. "He's getting different types and he's also good under pressure, as we saw when he stuck away the penalty in the last minute.

"It looks like he is getting better all the time but he had a really good grounding at Hamilton. Lewis didn't play a lot of first-team games there and people maybe wondered if he'd get in the Aberdeen team straight away.

"But it shows his maturity. He went in the team and has never looked back.

"He's been a regular from day one and it was a great piece of business from Aberdeen to get him for a few hundred grand, albeit Hamilton were a bit disappointed in his value.

"Lewis is turning into a top player and I wouldn't rule out him getting in the Scotland set-up in the next few years.

"He is good enough and he does remind me of Scott Brown a little bit. He can mix it up. He's not scared and he is a tough cookie. He relishes the battle whoever he comes up against. Nothing fazes him.”

Hartley continued: "Lewis is captain material too, and he is a good professional. He has come from a good background with his dad and uncle. He knows what football is about and although he's a quiet lad, on the pitch you know when he's there.

"The name doesn't seem to be a burden for him and he could end up just as good as Derek and Barry. He has so many games under his belt at a young age and I'm sure he takes a lot of advice from them.

"They'll tell him the pitfalls but he looks like he wants it. He is working under a good manager and he will do well.”

With Brown approaching the tail end of his career, the question of who will succeed the former Hibs player in the heart of the Celtic side is one that is not going anywhere.

Hartley believes that Ferguson has no shortage of admirers after his performances for the Dons of late – and while he stopped short of urging Lennon to sign the talented midfielder, Hartley added that Ferguson is among the best players in Scotland in his position.

When asked about the prospect of Ferguson replacing Brown, Hartley said: "I don't think Derek would be too happy about that but look, he's a player who will obviously have a lot of admirers. He's maturing, he's getting better.

"One day, someone will need to replace Scott Brown.

"I am not saying Celtic should come and sign Lewis Ferguson, but what I am saying is he's as good as anyone in the top flight right now."

Paul Hartley was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.