HOW do you replace the irreplaceable?

There will never be another Scott Brown. Not at Celtic. One day the captain won’t be there and someone, Kieran Tierney, John McGinn or whoever, will be asked to become the beating heart of the team both on and off the park.

Celtic have lost better players down the years through retirement or simply when they move on. The club has managed to continue.

Read more: Scott Brown: John McGinn has replaced me with Scotland - he can do the same at Celtic​

It is, however, nigh on impossible to envisage uncovering someone of the same personality as the current captain, a man for whom having to sleep must be a real annoyance when there is so much to do.

That Brown is a Celtic legend is beyond debate. That at 33 he still has plenty of football left is also true but even the best get old. All legs grow weary, which is why Brendan Rodgers is so keen to get in McGinn from Hibs – a deal which in all likelihood will be completed next week.

At 23, the Hibernian midfielder is ready for a step-up, and please that is not being disrespectful to his current club who deserve huge credit in the player’s development.

Brown and McGinn get on. The older man likes what he sees in his would-be apprentice, which is why he was happy to talk openly about him yesterday. The pair have been in contact – a few jokey texts – and a deal ought to be completed soon enough.

And the skipper is more than happy about who is about to come into an already impressive dressing room.

“John and I get on really well off the park,” said Brown. “It’s always harder to play against your mates, more than anything. It’s always going to be a battle playing against him. I’m very surprised at how he plays. He gets the ball and drives forward.

“He’s done it with Scotland as well. He has taken Hibs by the scruff of the neck and strolled through most of the games in the Premiership last season.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers is prepared to be patient in his bid to improve his Celtic squad​

“John wants to fight, he wants to battle. He’s one of the strongest ones there is. Everyone says you would want him beside you rather than against you. He’s got a great left foot, he’s strong, wants to win the ball back. He also has a goal in him, so he has pretty much everything you need.”

McGinn was one of the Premiership’s top performers last season. He was a nominee in all the individual polls, which Brown won, and the exciting thing for Celtic, probably, and Scotland, definitely, is there is much more to come.

“The manager makes everyone a better player,” said Brown of Brendan Rodgers. “He’s been around top quality players for most of his management career so you are always going to learn from him.

“No matter what, the changes of formation, the changes of style we play, will probably suit John more than anything. I’ve just sent him a few wee jokes. You can imagine what. I let you be the judge of that.

“Yes, John can handle Celtic. He did it for Scotland. I think a lot of people were surprised he got in the squad ahead of more experienced players at Aberdeen and elsewhere. But, by far, he shone.

Read more: Scott Brown: John McGinn has replaced me with Scotland - he can do the same at Celtic​

“In his first game at Hampden against Denmark he played alongside me. He was outstanding and got man of the match. He is willing to learn, and that is part of the battle, so he is going to improve.”

Brown was excellent in last week’s 3-0 win over FC Alashkert in Armenia; a result which makes tonight’s home second leg as routine a match he has played in his eleven years in Glasgow.

“The whole squad is getting stronger,” he said. “Everyone is in good condition. A few lads are now coming back and young Lewis Morgan has come in and done well.

“Pre-season has been really good for us. Everyone has come back in great condition, they look a lot sharper and fitter than we were at this stage last year. We knew we had to do because of this extra qualifier.

“The breaks get shorter and season gets longer. For us, we are back in good nick. Everyone looked after themselves and you could see that over in Armenia.

“We were fitter than them and they are six or seven games into their season.

“We had four weeks off but we kept ticking over during that time. Football is now a 12 month season almost.

“What do I do? I relax. I went on holiday this year with Steven Whittaker, the families are very close, and the two of us managed to go to the gym together – to get away from the kids.

“That was 16 hours in the gym. I came back fitter than ever!”