BRENDAN Rodgers and Neil Lennon were involved in a difference of opinion last night about the respective merits of central midfielders Scott Brown and John McGinn after both men played their part in a keenly-contested 2-2 draw between Celtic and Hibs at Eater Road.

While Rodgers insisted Brown was “the exceptional midfielder on the pitch”, “the exceptional midfield player in Scotland” and “there was no contest” with his young rival for a place in the Scotland international midfield, his fellow Northern Irishman Lennon said that it was the 23-year-old former St Mirren midfielder who had been “a cut above” yesterday.

The draw moves the Parkhead side’s invincible domestic record onto the 68 mark, although only a goal line clearance in injury time from an effort from Hibs substitute Oli Shaw preserved that record. It was Celtic’s fifth draw of the season and leaves them five clear of Aberdeen at the top of the table with a game in hand.

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“There was no contest,” said Rodgers. “Scott Brown was the exceptional midfield player on the pitch. I like young John McGinn, I think he’s a good player. He’s got drive and good energy. But Scott Brown is the exceptional midfield player in Scotland and he has shown that, not just in Scotland but when he plays in the Champions League. So, he [McGinn] will have a way to go before he’ll be at that level.”

“I would totally disagree with that assessment,” said Lennon. “I thought John McGinn was superb today. Physically he was good, his football was good. I don’t remember Browny dominating the game. In fact, in the last 20 minutes John got stronger when we put him back in his natural position. He played a bit differently to start with but I thought he was magnificent. Maybe Brendan sees it different but I thought McGinn was a cut above.”

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Rodgers praised his team for the standard of their display, after the setback of defeat at home to Anderlecht in the Champions League, but chided them for not killing their opponents off. “The game should have been out of reach,” he said. "I thought we were very good, on the back of a tough week.

“To lose that game would have been a crime, really,” he said. “I thought the level of our play was exceptional - our movement, our positioning, our creativity in the game, and defending. Defensively, we were very strong. But that last 15 minutes, not so good.”