Will he, won’t he? The saga surrounding Scott Brown’s Scotland future seems to have gone on longer than Celtic’s unbeaten run but there could be some decisions coming very soon.

In the wake of Celtic’s 4-2 victory over Hibernian in the semi-final of the Betfred Cup yesterday, Brown revealed that he is set to have what could be described as crunch talks with Malky Mackay, the interim Scotland manager.

Brown’s disappointment with the decision to part company with Gordon Strachan has been well documented. Scotland’s next match will be a friendly with the Netherlands in November and Mackay, who will take charge for that encounter at Pittodrie, would no doubt be delighted to have Brown in his ranks. Brown will have the final say, though.

“I know (what his Scotland future is) but I’m not telling you,” said Brown to a probing press pack. “We will see what happens. I am going to speak to Malky in the next couple of days and see how it goes.

Brown and his team-mates will put the club’s 60 match unbeaten record on the line again this week with a testing trip to Aberdeen but Brown is relishing the challenge. “It’s only people on the outside who are putting pressure on us about the unbeaten run,” he added. “We are relaxed and enjoying the football. Maybe sometimes fans get a fright with the way we play the ball from the back but that’s how the manager wants us to play. We want to play that way too. We don’t want to be an ugly football team."

A brace from both from both Mikeal Lustig and the returning Moussa Dembele put Hibernian to the sword as Celtic continued to exert a tyrannical rule over the Scottish game. "I am ready as soon as the manager needs me on the pitch,” said Dembele who is being eased back into frontline duty after injury. “I am fit to produce what I have produced last season."

Lustig may not be renowned for his prolific goal scoring record but having notched one for Sweden against Luxembourg recently, the 30-year-old bolstered his tally with a rare double whammy.

“It is often like this and you can go 20 or 30 games without a goal and suddenly you are there at the right time,” he said. "I didn’t hit the ball cleanly but that is probably why they have both gone in. Every game we know we are favourites and we should win the game. But even if we win the game 1-0 or 2-1 we are not satisfied because we know the level we can get to.”

Hibernian winger Brandon Barker, meanwhile, told the Easter Road faithful to prepare for fireworks in Tuesday’s Edinburgh derby after their day out at Hampden ended in something of a damp squib.

Barker was disappointed with his own part in the opening goal for Celtic on the day, being caught napping as Lustig crept in at the back post, and it was typical of the poor defending from Neil Lennon’s side throughout the afternoon.

The on-loan Manchester City man though says that the Hibs players are determined to repay their supporters against Hearts at Easter Road.

“I would tell the fans to get ready for fireworks, because it’s going to be a great game,” said Barker.

“The Edinburgh derby of course is massive for the fans, and if you win that then it’s great for the supporters, and hopefully we can do that to make amends.

“We definitely want to win some silverware this season, so it’s disappointing to have gone out, but that’s football and somebody had to go out. Unfortunately, it was us. Hopefully we can put that right on Tuesday.

“[At the first goal] they got the flick-on and my man scored, so that’s always disappointing, but I tried to do my best in the game.

“It’s always difficult if you concede four. Our defence have been great, especially in the last few weeks. We have fantastic defenders, it just wasn’t our day and hopefully on Tuesday we can put it right.

“The goals we lost obviously weren’t great goals to concede, but we gave it a good go and that’s the main thing.”

The second-half showing from Hibs, where they matched Celtic in goals and endeavour, should indeed ensure they aren’t too downbeat as they gear up for the test against their city rivals.

“This game gives us plenty of heart going into that game,” he said. “Celtic are the best team in Scotland, and we’ve just gone toe-to-toe with them.

“I’m hoping for a fantastic game in my first Edinburgh derby. There’s definitely more to come from me and the boys to be honest.

“If you look at most of our games, we’re the better side, so we’re just going to keep going and hopefully on Tuesday we can show that again.”