Gerrard sees so much of himself in McGinn
Coyle believes Villa boss identified a kindred spirit in midfield dynamo when he made him his new skipper
JOHN McGINN and Steven Gerrard both had to confront the stamina-sapping challenge of playing in the searing heat of a Texas summer seven years ago.
McGinn was a 20-year-old on trial with MLS side Houston Dynamo; Gerrard a visiting LA Galaxy veteran featuring in his second Stateside game.
To Owen Coyle’s recollection, they reacted rather differently in the conditions.
Then in charge of the Texan side, the now Queen’s Park boss explained: ‘Our seasoned internationalists came up to me after training asking me: “Gaffer, who is this kid McGinn? He’s unbelievable”.
‘The humidity makes playing in Houston really energy-sapping. After, say, 60 minutes it can be a big home advantage.
‘We’re doing these sessions and my boys are starting to wilt. John’s still going powerfully. They couldn’t believe it after he’d just stepped off a plane. His quality, energy, work on and off the ball was a breath of fresh air.
‘About a week later, Gerrard played for the Galaxy at our place. We beat them 3-0.
‘Stevie G comes off the pitch, after only his second MLS match, saying to me: “Please, Owen, tell me it’s not like this every week”.
‘I said: “It is in Houston”! You walk out and you’re soaked through. Playing at that elite level for 95 minutes takes its toll.’
Coyle believes McGinn and Gerrard actually have plenty in common, leading him to conclude that Gerrard appointed the Scot as Aston Villa’s captain because he sees so much of himself in the midfield powerhouse.
Gerrard stripping the armband from Tyrone Mings has caused some controversy at Villa. But Coyle (below) contends that McGinn’s promotion was unavoidable on account of the former Rangers boss discovering many familiar traits in the 27-yearold when they teamed up midway through last season.
Coyle explained: ‘John has so many leadership qualities, he’s the perfect person you’d want to skipper your team. The fit with McGinn and Gerrard is that he’s 100 per cent an outstanding man and his type of player.
‘The quality Gerrard the player had was second to none. But he had more than that. He could tackle, was a winner, knew how to lead, win headers, everything.
‘You could put him in any position on the pitch and he’d be the best player in the game. And that’s everything he sees in John McGinn. Because John has got all those qualities.
‘What’s worked for John is all down to his desire and quality. He would still be in the same place now — the English Premier League — whether or not he’d signed for Houston and moved to the MLS as a young boy.
‘It’s worked out brilliantly and no one has given it to him. He had to go to Hibs and find his way to what he’s done.’ McGinn landed in Houston in the summer of 2015 on the recommendation of Coyle’s No2 Sandy Stewart, who had helped Danny Lennon at St Mirren during a spell out of the game. The midfielder made a startling impression and not only from his capacity to cope with sweltering conditions on the coaching field. Coyle put much effort into fixing a deal to lure him to America, including a sales pitch over the phone to McGinn’s concerned mum Mary that stressed a move to Houston was perfect for her boy. Ultimately, there was too much red tape surrounding the transfer and McGinn would eventually return to Scotland to sign for Hibs, then in the Championship.
He hasn’t stopped improving since and it’s no shock to Coyle that, when Gerrard goes into big Premier League clashes such as today’s against Frank Lampard’s Everton, it’s McGinn he wants leading his team.
Coyle explained: ‘I remember John’s mum phoning me and I reassured her: “Listen, we’ll look after him. I’m one of nine myself, I know you’re a close-knit family”.
‘She felt better for it, we agreed personal terms of something like $70,000-per-year with John. We’d spent most of our budget so didn’t have much else available other than a minimum salary slot.
‘But St Mirren wouldn’t give him up without compensation and weren’t prepared to give the international clearance which we needed.
‘If I had the money, I’d have paid it. Because I could see he was a sensational player and such a grounded boy. But it would have got dragged through court arbitration and, ultimately, put John out the game for six to nine months until the contract could be signed. I couldn’t do that to him.
‘I could tell he was only going to get better with better players around him.’
McGinn subsequently moved from Hibs to Villa, helping them win promotion in his first full campaign in England in 2018-19, while his personal stock has risen every season since.
Spurs and Manchester United were among those linked with a £40million interest in the Scotland international who now boasts 48 caps to his name.
‘John’s good enough to play in any of those elite Premier League teams,’ insisted Coyle. ‘He will still think there’s another couple of rungs in the ladder he can get to. That would be the next move for him.
‘As captain, he’ll only improve. And he’s probably earning more than $70,000-a-week, never mind a year! Good luck to him — he deserves it.’