Rodgers hails versatile McGregor after Hibs win

French striker Odsonne Edouard grabbed a double after the break as Neil Lennon’s Hibs twice reduced the deficit with goals from Florian Kamberi and Martin Boyle.

The impressive win took Celtic into second place in the Ladbrokes Premiership ahead of the Europa League clash with RB Leipzig in Germany on Thursday night, with Brown a doubt along with striker Leigh Griffiths, who missed Saturday’s game through illness.

Rodgers, however, waxed lyrical about another of his key players.

He said: “There is only one problem, when you move Callum McGregor you want Callum McGregor to be in the other po- sition. He is absolutely tactically brilliant.

“He played three positions. He played wide in a 4-3-3, he played as a holding player in the bottom of the diamond and then in the left side of a diamond.

“He is just tactically brilliant. His view of the game is so good, his brain is of a really top level performer.

“Tactically he is just a special player to work with and he has this unique quality for here in Scotland, that he keeps the ball which at the top level you have to do.

“He is such a top-class player.” Striker Edouard hailed the victory which kept the defending champions within three points of pacesetters Hearts at the top of the table. “It was really important to win,” said Edouard.

“It’s important to demonstrate to everyone that we’re a team and work towards that top spot. We were playing a very good team, and we knew that going into the game.”

Former Celtic boss Lennon, who described the performance of referee Don Robertson as “abysmal”, said: “I was frustrated with the first half, we didn’t do the things that we wanted to do and we got exposed for pace in certain areas.

“In the first half we lacked belief in the final third at times, we let Celtic off the hook at times. We were a lot better in the second-half,” the former Celtic boss added. Key role: Callum McGregor was praised by Brendan Rodgers