REACHING FOR THE SKY
McGinn is excited about what the future holds at Hibs after plenty of transfer speculation
AS John McGinn cruised at altitude between Glasgow and Vilnius on August 31, his Hibernian future was also up in the air.
The subject of three bids from Nottingham Forest, the midfielder stepped off the plane for a vital World Cup qualifier in Lithuania and found his phone bleeping red hot.
Each message brought an even more ridiculous rumour about his movements on deadline day than the last.
Ultimately midnight came and went without Forest boss Mark Warburton coming close to meeting Neil Lennon’s £5million valuation.
But if anyone expected such transfer speculation to leave McGinn with his head in the clouds, that notion was dispelled by his display at St Johnstone on Saturday.
Outstanding in his side’s draw in Perth, the midfielder remains focused only on improving his game at Easter Road. ‘I was travelling to Lithuania in the morning on deadline day and when I landed, people were telling me all sorts,’ said McGinn. ‘Someone had me signing for Rangers. Others had me at Hearts for a medical. There was all sorts of nonsense going on! I was the butt of jokes from the Scotland boys but they are used to it and they know what goes on on deadline day.
‘I knew Hibs had a valuation of me and I fully respect that. I knew I was still going to be a Hibs player going into the last day (if nobody met Hibs’ valuation).
‘No club met it and I am still a Hibs player — and I’m delighted. I’m settled and happy here. It’s a quality club and I am getting better all the time.
‘It was nice to hear the manager saying that (he rates me at £5m) but I just want to focus on improving, by playing alongside good players and learning from good coaches.
‘I feel with every game I play for this club, I get stronger and better and I want to continue that.
‘I also feel that every time I go away with the national team, I come back a better player, too.
‘The training is so quick and so sharp and there are a lot of top players there. I feel honoured to be picked but I feel very much at home with Scotland.’
The build-up to this game had been entertaining, with Hibs boss Lennon cheekily revealing he used to call Saints manager Tommy Wright ‘Mick McManus’, after the English wrestler.
That was down to the former goalkeeper wearing ‘a leotard’ in training with Northern Ireland, in the days before the invention of Under Armour. Suffice to say there was a discussion on the matter between the two friends before kick-off.
AN entertaining game from the off, it burst properly into life after the break when Saints took the lead with a classic counter-attack.
As Hibs went forward, fit-again Martin Boyle saw a shot saved by Alan Mannus and it required a terrific block from Richard Foster to stop Anthony Stokes turning the rebound in.
After Foster blocked another attempt by Simon Murray, Saints raced up the park and substitute Liam Craig — on for the ill Murray Davidson — laid the ball on a plate for Michael O’Halloran to crack high into the net from close range. It was the fifth goal in as many games for the on-loan Rangers outcast and the Scottish Premiership Player of the Month for August.
Hibs were soon level when Murray hared down the left after Steven Anderson failed to cut out a long ball.
The forward’s cross was perfect. Had Paul Paton not turned it into his own net, Stokes would have done the job with ease.
Hibs had Saints on the ropes but could not find a knockout blow. They tried their best but Boyle saw a shot somehow tipped on to the bar by Mannus. Murray had an effort hacked off the line and Stokes blazed over from a good position.
‘We need to start putting the ball in the net,’ sighed McGinn. ‘Our end product has been lacking a little bit. We made the wrong decisions at times in the final third.
‘The gaffer was disappointed with our front four. They caused Saints problems but it’s end product that we need and we know they are capable.
‘Martin Boyle is one of the quickest players in the division and Brandon Barker has a lot of skill. We just need to feed them the ball and let them make things happen. I’m sure when Martin gets back to full fitness, he will be a thorn in a lot of teams’ sides.’
McGinn felt he was targeted for close attention by St Johnstone players. But he came through the test with flying colours, earning fulsome praise from Lennon.
‘The manager was pleased with my performances and that was nice to hear,’ he said.
‘I struggled a bit in the last couple of games with getting close attention. But if you want to get better, that is what you need to get used to. I felt I adapted better to it today.
‘St Johnstone are very good at it but
I felt strong, fit and fast. I will be prepared if anything like that comes my way again.
‘St Johnstone are a really good side. We kept Michael O’Halloran quiet but then he popped up with a goal.
‘Perth is a tough place to come. I think I’ve only won here once in my career before.
‘But if anyone was watching the game, they would think we deserved to get all three points.
‘We were disappointed not to win today. But we would rather play well and not win than play poorly and get beaten. Hopefully, we can put it right against Motherwell next weekend.’