McGinn happy to upset Hungarian side of his family
JOHN McGINN is on a collision course with his Hungarian cousins as he aims to be part of a Scotland victory tonight in Budapest. The Hibs star was restricted to a late cameo in last week’s 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica at Hampden. Now he hopes to show new boss Alex McLeish what he can do this evening in the Groupama Arena. And McGinn is prepared for a midfield battle in a country where he has strong family ties. ‘I know quite a bit about Hungarian football as my uncle lives over there and my two little cousins are half-Hungarian,’ said the 23-year-old as he prepares to win his seventh cap. ‘I’ve been across a couple of times, so I know the country quite well. I love Budapest. I’ve only been there once but it’s one of the best cities in Europe. ‘After playing in the Euros in 2016, Hungary will have threats all over the pitch. It will be a tricky game for us. ‘I think the battle will be won in midfield as they have good players and so do we. ‘We’ll need to roll our sleeves up and be ready for the fight. It’s a friendly but we certainly won’t be treating it like that and neither will Hungary.’ McGinn captained Scotland Under-21s to victory in Hungary in 2015 under interim boss Danny Lennon and is hoping to taste more success there with the senior squad. ‘I have positive memories of playing in Hungary — we won 2-1,’ he told the Scottish FA website. ‘It was the first time I’d been captain of the Under-21s and it was a brilliant feeling. Being captain was unexpected and I received a bit of a slagging from the rest of the boys but, once all of that passed, I felt I did well in the role. ‘It’s definitely something I can look back on and be proud of. ‘It was a relatively new squad and we scored two late goals to win the game. It sparked a half-decent (qualifying) campaign.’ McGinn made his Scotland senior team breakthrough under Gordon Strachan in a 1-0 win over Denmark in March 2016. He is now looking forward to continuing his development under McLeish, who has been handed the task of ending the nation’s 20-year exile from a major finals. ‘He’s done well for Scotland before and he’s brought in a great coaching staff,’ said McGinn. ‘Peter Grant has coached at the top level and James McFadden is a player everyone in the squad respects as he’s done it all and scored some massive goals. It’s a good mix, which I think will really help us. Hopefully, he (McLeish) can bring success to the nation.’