Hibs midfielder John McGinn has been tipped to be the eventual successor to Scott Brown at both Celtic and Scotland, but the 23-year-old has insisted that nothing could be further from his mind.

McGinn was the outstanding player on the pitch when Hibs earned a well deserved 2-2 draw with Celtic, a game in which the running sequence arguably came under the most pressure it has been subjected to in its 63 game sequence.

Alan Stubbs recently suggested that McGinn is the ideal man to step into Brown’s shoes but for now the Easter Road player is content to let his football do the talking.

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“It is not something that I think about,” said McGinn. “We are different players. Scott has been the driving force for Celtic and Scotland for a long time.

“We are different players entirely; he has a right foot, I have a left foot for a start. I try to take wee bits from his game and implement it into mine but at the same I try to take bits from others too - Darren Fletcher, Callum McGregor, Stuart Armstrong.

“I don’t try to base my game on one player and I would rather play alongside him than replace him.

“I have had nice wee tussles when I’ve played against him but you want to show you can match him. If I can have as good a career as he has had in a Scotland jersey I’ll be delighted.”

McGinn will be expected to get a decent run out against Holland at Pittodrie for Thursday night’s Scotland friendly against Holland.

The midfielder is one of the players who is expected to be pivotal to the next campaign and McGinn is looking to garner as much experience from the game against the Dutch as he can.

The veteran in the squad, Darren Fletcher, has had to bow out of this meeting but he is a player whom McGinn would like to see still involved when the European Championship qualification journey gets underway.

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It remains to be seen if Brown is still around for those games too. The midfielder has been coy about his future with the national squad after coming out of retirement last year.

The Celtic captain has spoken of his desire to carry on although admitted that if there was any kick back in terms of his fitness and availability for the Parkhead side that he would revisit his decision.

For McGinn, though, both midfielders provide ideal tutorage for what is required in the position.

“Darren and Scott are still in squad and don’t want to give it up,”” said McGinn. “I hope they can continue in the squad. They are two top players with a lot of experience who can help newer and younger boys.

“They are both are great role models Darren has won a lot of things, the same as Scott has. “It is great for me to have these guys in midfield to learn from.

“It’s one of our strongest areas and each time I come away I feel I get better and better. I just hope that continues.”

While there is respect, however, there is also ambition.

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“You respect them, they are top players but at the same time you are also here to try to get the jersey off them and show you are better,” said McGinn.

“That aside you want a positive result for the country first and then you can look for yourself to get better, improve and show what you can do.”

McGinn, like Celtic’s Callum McGregor, was left on the bench for the final two crucial group games against Slovakia and Slovenia.

Many felt that both players should have been given the chance to feature given their form at club level but Gordon Strachan, who has subsequently left his post, made the decision to stick by the tried and tested.

“They were two very important games and I was desperate to get some game time,” admitted McGinn. “It wasn’t to be but I am totally supportive of the decision and like everyone else gutted that we did not make the finals.

“We just missed out but we were unbeaten in 2017. We managed to get a bit of momentum going and started to look a right good team so we have to use that in these friendlies and then take it into the qualifying campaign.

“We are craving what everyone is craving and that is to get to a major tournament.”

And McGinn is ready for the test against Holland on Thursday.

“I think it’s a really good game for us the fact it’s Holland won’t treat it as a friendly,” he said. “It is a chance to show what you can do on a big stage against a really good team.

“They have missed out on qualification just like us so they will be wanting to prove people wrong as will the players in our squad.

“It will be a tough test but if we can get a good result it will stand us in good stead.”