If you mess up you can either collapse and go under or puff your chest out and get on with it.. I GO FOR THE SECOND OPTION
ISRAEL v SCOTLAND SAYS JOHN McGINN (WHO DID THIS A FEW WEEKS LATER)
COLLAPSE and go under or puff out your chest and get on with it.
John McGinn may have unintentionally come up with one of those funky Scotland motivational slogans.
The Aston Villa midfielder has a bright future as the beating heart of the national side but it sounds like he could save the SFA a few quid when it comes to dreaming up ad campaigns as well.
No wonder the playmaker is the poster boy for Alex McLeish’s new Scotland era.
We might stumble, we might even fall a few times but we’ll keep picking ourselves up and coming back for more.
McGinn is hoping he’s already had his tumble. He was furious at himself for losing the ball and costing a goal in last month’s 4-0 defeat to Belgium.
It was fresh in the memory in the Nations League 2-0 win over Albania three days later and even last weekend he decided to take evasive action rather than risk landing his team in bother.
The 23-year-old won’t be haunted by the Red Devils though – it’s only made him even more determined heading to face Israel on Thursday.
He said: “You can either collapse and go under or puff your chest out and get on with it. That’s what I tried to do and it’s about trying to limit the mistakes while doing the right things.
“The manager says he trusts the way I play and the way we are going to play going forward. We need to be comfortable on the ball but I am sure he’ll trust me again.
“I nearly didn’t learn from it though as I almost did it again in the Albania game! I thought I did okay over the two games but it was a case of building and learning from it.
“I managed to make very few mistakes during Gordon Strachan’s time but the more play you have, the more chance of being involved in one.
“It just so happened it was a high-profile one and it led to a goal.
“Even though I am getting on, you are still learning all the time and you don’t receive the ball in those positions.
“It makes me think twice, even at club level. I got one at the weekend and I took a touch and just booted it.
“I wasn’t going to get caught again. It wasn’t a nice feeling that night but it made me even more determined to put in a good performance in the Albania game. Thankfully it went okay.
“But it makes you more sympathetic to goalkeepers and defenders, that’s for sure. When you make a mistake like that you want the ground to swallow you up.”
It has been a funny old spell for McGinn. There was the Celtic transfer saga in the summer, eventual move to Villa and instant success in the Midlands.
Results then nosedived, his boss Steve Bruce was sacked and Brendan Rodgers – the guy he rejected a few months ago – found himself on Villa’s shortlist.
If that wasn’t enough of a headspinner, McGinn became an internet sensation two weeks after his Belgium mishap for what’s probably already got the goal of the season gong in the bag.
His 25-yard volley against Sheffield Wednesday had folk on their feet and jaws on the floor. While the strike became a YouTube hit, the former Hibs midfielder looks at the bigger picture.
He said: “Yeah, it went viral. But we eventually were beaten and the manager was under pressure. It didn’t work out the way we wanted and I wish it had been under better circumstances.
“Obviously I was delighted with the goal and to get the messages of support from around the world.
“I don’t know about doing it again in training, I just need to make sure there’s no counter-attack!”
Goal of the season though? “I don’t know,” he said. “As Neil Lennon said, I didn’t do it for him up here so I don’t think it counts!
“When I hit it I knew it was in. Then it hit the bar and I had a wee panic. It was nice to score a goal like that but it didn’t help the team that day. It was still a defeat and it started a negative run for us. So, as nice as it was to score a goal like that, I’d rather have had a win.”
A fan may have chucked a cabbage at Bruce but plaudits have been thrown McGinn’s way, with Brummies even branding him McGinniesta.
He said: “I’m not sure about that comparison. I’ve just gone down and tried to do what I did at Hibs. The supporters always appreciated that at Hibs, that I put in 110 per cent in every game.
“That’s something lacking a bit down south. Everything comes too easy.
“Scottish players can’t forget we need to work for everything we get.
“That’s what I’m trying to do down
As Neil Lennon said, I didn’t do it for him so I don’t think it counts JOHN McGINN ON HIS VILLA WONDER GOAL
there – and thankfully the fans have taken to me.”
The Tartan Army are the same and McGinn’s out to give them a heck of a time in Haifa. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp reckons the Nations League is “the most senseless competition in the world.”
But McGinn said: “I don’t think it’s farcical. This competition gives us the opportunity to qualify for a major tournament, which we all want to do. We’re not getting carried away but this is a good chance for us. Israel will be a tough place to go.”