‘I was blowing’ – The two Celtic stars who present Hibs defender Lewis Miller with ‘favourite’ challenge

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Lewis Miller is as game as they come… and this weekend he’ll have to be.

The Hibs defender is ready for his side’s trip to Celtic Park in the Scottish Cup which is obviously the most difficult venue in the country for opponents to play their football.

Celtic welcome the Easter Road outfit knowing they have to improve from the last time they faced off when Hibs beat the Hoops 2-1 in Leith.

For Miller he coped well that day, it has to be said, and he did so against two of the best stars in the country in the form of player of the year candidate Daizen Maeda and Jota.

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Hibs star Lewis Miller is excited to face Celtic’s Daizen Maeda and Jota

Maeda did score after being shuffled through the middle as Jota replaced Adam Idah whose form has dipped in recent weeks.

But Miller insisted the pair and Celtic as a whole offer him his “favourite” challenge because he enjoys testing himself against the best.

“Yeah, that was fantastic, wasn’t it? Half-time, I was blowing.. then they were like, nah, let’s put on Jota! I was like, ‘sweet, that sounds good’,” he said about dealing with the dynamic duo.

“For me, Celtic’s one of my favourite match-ups, right? Because if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. And those two are probably the highest-rated, highest-performing wingers in the league.

“For me, that’s just a challenge, and I always want to beat the best. So it’s an opportunity that I love to take, and hopefully I can get that again on the weekend.”

Brendan Rodgers is excited to welcome 7000 Hibs fans to Celtic Park

It is set to be an entertaining match in Glasgow this weekend with the Hibees taking as many as 7000 fans to watch.

Celtic allowed a boosted number of away briefs for the visitors and manager Rodgers was pleased to hear it.

“Does near sellout show magic of the cup is alive? Yes, I think it is,” Rodgers said. “In all the games, you can’t dismiss what it means to have away supporters in your ground, because that creates the atmosphere, that creates the rivalry, and I know, especially in the Celtic Rangers games, we haven’t had that for a few years.

“But this game will show the passion that is there from both sets of supporters, and that will roll onto the pitch, I’m pretty sure, and create for a great atmosphere.”