The Aston Villa midfielder made his Scotland debut in March 2016 but his early involvement with the national team was not universally welcomed
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John McGinn
John McGinn(Image: Getty Images)
Aston Villa captain John McGinn takes pride in reporting for Scotland duty as a Champions League quarter-finalist, a far cry from the skepticism he faced when he first joined the squad nine years ago as a Scottish Championship player.
McGinn, 30, debuted against Denmark in March 2016, but his early inclusion was met with criticism, largely due to his status as a player with Hibernian in Scottish second tier.
Former Scotland player Charlie Adam, then with Stoke City in the Premier League and whose last appearance for Scotland was in 2015, questioned the selection of less-established midfielders, inadvertently drawing McGinn into a controversy.
Adam was quoted 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 readies for the Nations League play-off against Greece in Piraeus, he recalled Adam's comments: "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."
Now a key player for Villa and gearing up for the clash with Paris Saint-Germain next month, McGinn has come a long way. With 73 caps and 20 goals for Scotland, he's one of Steve Clarke's most experienced players.
"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. 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."
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