ULTIMATE WARRIOR
Brown sees something of himself in McGinn as the Hibs midfielder holds out for dream move to Celtic Park
THE lack of a red mohawk notwithstanding, Scott Brown looks at John McGinn these days and sees much of himself a decade or so ago.
‘It’s always going to be a battle playing against him,’ said the Celtic skipper.
‘He gets the ball and drives forward. He’s done it with Scotland, as well.
‘He’s taken Hibs by the scruff of the neck and strolled through most of the games in the Premiership last season.
‘He wants to fight, he wants to battle. He’s got a great left foot, he’s strong and he wants to win the ball back. He also has a goal in him, so he has pretty much everything you need.
‘Everyone says you would want him beside you rather than against you.’
No one surely now doubts that, when league hostilities eventually resume, Brown’s wish will be granted.
The grandson of former Celtic chairman Jack, McGinn’s steadfast refusal to move to anywhere other than Parkhead has significantly weakened Hibs’ bargaining position. Without a player’s say-so, there can be no bidding war.
Which is not to say the Easter Road hierarchy will now simply cave in and accede to Celtic’s every demand. And nor should they.
The trouble for anyone seeking a quick resolution in this matter is plain: Hibs value the player at £4million and still have six weeks to attain that sum. Celtic would pay half that figure now but are only five months from landing the player for nothing on a pre-contract.
Frustratingly for McGinn, as things stand, it may yet take some time before the middle ground is arrived at.
‘I was in John’s situation a good few years ago, so I know how he is feeling,’ Brown recalled of his protracted £4.4m move from Hibs to Celtic 11 years ago.
‘He is still a Hibs player just now and has to continue doing what he is doing.
‘He just has to take a back step and let the clubs deal with it. He just has to carry on with what he’s doing because that’s why clubs want to sign him. He is a top-quality player.
‘Everyone knows how good a player he is. Whatever happens will happen.
‘Every club wants to make as much money as they can from a top-quality player. Even though he’s only got a year left on his deal, they want to get as much cash as they possibly can and quite rightly so.’
Rarely one to be associated with Zen-like patience, Brown admits the temptation to text the Hibernian man of late has got the better of him.
It won’t, in itself, push the respective moneymen closer to reaching an agreement but it may dispel any lingering doubt McGinn harbours about how he’s rated by his peers. Recalling the man-ofthe-match display the player turned in for Scotland in his debut against Denmark two years ago, Brown, frankly, could not be more fulsome in his praise.
‘I think a lot of people were surprised he got in the squad ahead of more experienced players at Aberdeen and elsewhere,’ said Brown.
‘But he shone. It was his first (Scotland) game at Hampden and he played alongside me. He was outstanding and got man of the match.
‘He is willing to learn, which is part of the battle. So he is going to improve.
‘The manager (Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers) makes everyone a better player.
‘He has been around top-quality players for most of his management career, so you are always going to learn from him.
‘No matter what the changes of formation, the changes of style we play, it will suit John.’ Even with Stuart Armstrong now having left the club, McGinn will need no one to tell him that he won’t simply walk into Rodgers’ team. With Brown and Eboue Kouassi vying for the holding role McGinn seems to be eventually destined for, his ball-carrying qualities mean his direct competition further up the field will come in the form of Callum McGregor, Olivier Ntcham (below left) and Tom Rogic. Even before the Australian and the rest of Celtic’s World Cup contingent become available, the side has a foreboding look to it. Although a handful of pre-season games and last week’s 3-0 win in Armenia against Alashkert represent a limited body of evidence, Rodgers’ team unquestionably looks fitter and hungrier than they’ve done at this point in the summer for many a long year. ‘Pre-season has been really good for us,’ said Brown. ‘Everyone has come back in great condition. They look a lot sharper and fitter than we were at this stage last year. We knew we had to because of this extra qualifier.
‘We had four weeks off but we kept ticking over during that time. Football is now almost a 12-month season.
‘Everyone looked after themselves and you could see that over in Armenia. We were fitter than them and they are six or seven games into their season.
‘What did I do? I relaxed. I went on holiday this year with Steven Whittaker as the families are very close.
‘The two of us managed to go to the gym together — to get away from the kids. That was 16 hours in the gym. I came back fitter than ever.’
It’s fair to assume that Odsonne Edouard and Moussa Dembele did not spend the break sleeping in hammocks, either.
Normally deployed in different stages of matches last season, the French pair have invariably found themselves spearheading the 3-5-2 formation Rodgers has utilised thus far this term.
Close friends off the field, it’s abundantly clear that they have a shared understanding on it.
With Leigh Griffiths set to play his part once he recovers from a thigh injury, the armoury at Rodgers’ disposal could be frightening.
‘Yeah, the whole squad is getting stronger,’ added Brown.
‘The manager might add more to the squad.
‘Everyone is in good condition. A few lads are coming back and young Lewis (Morgan) has come in and done well.
‘Look at them (Dembele and Edouard) and you can see they are strong, fit and have ability. Both of them probably scare off most defenders, especially in the Premiership.
‘They showed how good they were last week. They are young and keen to learn. They have a good manager to learn from, as well.
‘And the change of formation, with two up front, has helped us.
‘It’s early days for these two but they seem to be keen.
‘They’ve got a great touch and always want the ball. It’s going to be a good partnership, hopefully, for a few years.
‘We’ve got Griff to come in, as well.
‘As soon as he is fit, that’s three great strikers we’ve got.’