Aston Villa captain on his rise from Scottish second tier to Champions League quarter-finals
John McGinn was playing in the Scottish Championship when he received his first call up to the Scotland squad at the age of 21.
Nine years on, the former Hibs midfielder is now an established Premier League operator and Champions League quarter-finalist with Aston Villa, where he is club captain, and is one of Scotland's star men, with 73 international caps and 20 goals under his belt.
McGinn overcame nerves to turn in a man of the match performance on his Scotland debut in a 1-0 friendly win over Denmark at Hampden on March 30, 2016. Not everyone was convinced, however, that he merited his selection, including one seasoned Scotland international who was overlooked for the same squad.
John McGinn (centre) during a Scotland training session at the City Stadium, Glasgow, on Monday, March 17. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)John McGinn (centre) during a Scotland training session at the City Stadium, Glasgow, on Monday, March 17. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)
John McGinn (centre) during a Scotland training session at the City Stadium, Glasgow, on Monday, March 17. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group
Charlie Adam was playing in the Premier League with Stoke City at the time and gave several interviews at the time questioning why other less-established midfielders were being selected ahead of him by then manager Gordon Strachan, with McGinn inadvertently a target of his frustration.
Adam, who won his last cap in 2015, was quoted as saying: “Scotland see fit to go with players playing in the Championship in Scotland over players who are playing in the Premier League.”
As McGinn prepared for Thursday’s Nations League play-off first leg against Greece in Piraeus, he said: “I remember Charlie Adam doing an interview on my first day from Stoke’s training ground asking why there was Scottish Championship players getting called up, which wasn’t too helpful at the time.
“It was my first lunch at Mar Hall – I remember it – and all the experienced boys were getting right on me saying ‘look, you shouldn’t be in the squad’. So my session 30 minutes later wasn’t great, it was nerve-wracking.”
McGinn, who helped lead Hibs to Scottish Cup glory two months later, is now in his preparing for a Champions League quarter-final against Paris St Germain next month.
The former St Mirren midfielder remains as humble as ever but takes “a lot of pride” from proving his doubters wrong and rising to prominence.
John McGinn wins his first Scotland cap against Denmark in March 2016.John McGinn wins his first Scotland cap against Denmark in March 2016.
John McGinn wins his first Scotland cap against Denmark in March 2016. | SNS Group
“I don’t think Charlie was meaning it at me individually or personally at the time, just the timing of it was a bit of a disaster,” McGinn said of Adam’s comments. “I remember going for lunch a wee bit nervous already.
“But you’ve always got people to try and prove wrong and you’ve got to show people that have a bit of faith in you that you deserve to be there and the decision’s justified and I think over time, I managed to show that.
“I think in Scotland we’re very quick. As soon as a Scotland squad comes out – and that’s something that’s not changed over the last 15 years – to go ‘why is he in it? He should be in it’. It does get a little bit draining rather than people just supporting the boys that are selected and all kind of being together on that.
“But certainly at that time, there was a lot of pressure on me and I felt it a little bit. But I remember that first game next to Broonie (Scott Brown), little nuggets of wisdom during the game, support before the game and you start to feel at home.
“It was a massive jump in my career at the time but it shows anyone now in the Scottish Championship and I hope that if that arises again, which is a possibility, that there’s not the same pressure put on them.”