Brown can’t put welcome mat out for McGinn yet SAYS NEIL LENNON

WHEN he claimed this week that John McGinn is his heir apparent for club and country, Scott Brown probably removed any lingering doubt from the mind of the Hibernian midfielder that he has the wherewithal to cut it at Celtic Park.

In the fullness of time, Neil Lennon — another man wellschooled in the challenge facing any newcomer to the east end of Glasgow — might well concur.

However, with the respective clubs still seemingly miles apart in their valuation of the 23-yearold, the Hibs boss believes such talk isn’t so much cheap as premature and misplaced.

‘I think it’s a bit presumptuous from Scott,’ said Lennon.

‘I’m aware John is admired by a lot of people in the Scottish game, but it’s a bit early for that sort of talk. I would prefer it if — regardless of what club John may go to — the players at that club wait until he actually arrives.

‘Then they can talk about him as much as they want.

‘I think managers talking about players at other clubs is definitely breaking a code, but perhaps Scott was just asked a question and gave an honest answer. However, we as a club would prefer it if a deal was concluded before players talk like that.’

Lennon has never been one to attempt to pull the wool over the public’s eyes.

The subject himself of a protracted Celtic chase — when they brought him to Parkhead from Leicester in 2000 — he doesn’t dispute the veracity of reports claiming McGinn has privately told the Hibs hierarchy the only club he wants to join is the one managed by Brendan Rodgers.

‘You would need to ask John,’ added Lennon. ‘Judging by his background, it would be hard to argue against that.

‘However, there is still a long way to go before anything is finalised. There are other suitors out there, albeit they haven’t come in with concrete bids yet.’

With Celtic’s second bid of £1.75million falling well short of Hibs’ valuation, those hoping for a quick resolution look set to be disappointed.

With neither club evidently in a hurry to find the middle ground, there is every chance McGinn will remain Hibs’ property right up until the transfer window slams shut at the end of next month.

Aware that his side hope to edge closer to the Europa League group stage over those intervening weeks, Lennon won’t hesitate to play McGinn against NSI Runavik in the Faroe Islands tonight — even though it would deem him ineligible for Celtic’s qualifiers.

‘It’s not my problem if he is cuptied for the Champions League qualifiers,’ said Lennon, who already has one eye on Greeks Asteras Tripoli in the next round after last week’s 6-1 rout in the first leg.

‘I need to do what’s best for my team. We want to progress in this tournament and, to do that, we will need to beat a very good Greek team and I’ll need my best players.

‘He’ll play tonight as it stands. He needs to play. If we negotiate this tie, then we have a really tough one in the next round and we need our players up to speed.’

In Lennon’s view, McGinn will take to the field fit and focused having got his head back in the right place after it was jumbled by transfer talk.

‘It was difficult for John in the first few days but I think he’s over it now,’ said the Hibs boss. ‘He’s trained well in the last few days, is more relaxed and settled in himself.’

Barring — in the words of Lennon — ‘a self-destruction of Titanic proportions’, Hibs will finish the job in the Faroes and swiftly turn their attention to adding reinforcements ahead of their tie against Asteras.

With Simon Murray on the cusp of joining Bidvest Wits of South Africa in a £150,000 deal, they are light in attack, where Jamie Maclaren remains a prime target. Lennon was coy last night on the prospect of the Darmstadt striker returning to Hibs.

‘We are looking,’ he said. ‘We are a little bit short in attack. I think we have enough to negotiate this tie and, hopefully, move quickly to bring players in — not just at centre-forward. We have options but there’s no sort of guarantees that any of these deals will be done.

‘We are moving quietly in the background and there’s a couple of players we like.’

One of those is ex-Kilmarnock midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, but no move is imminent.