McGinn adamant Scottish Cup must be played to finish
Champ Taylor worried he won’t fight again this year
ABERDEEN winger Niall McGinn insists it is imperative the Scottish Cup campaign is completed – regardless of what happens to league matches.
The Pittodrie side had been due to face Celtic at the semi-final stage at Hampden on April 12 but that tie, along with the other last-four encounter between Hearts and Hibs, has been postponed due to Scottish football’s shutdown.
When it comes to the Premiership, Derek McInnes’ side are just one point adrift of third place Motherwell with eight games to play.
But with fears growing that there will not be enough time for league action to resume due to the coronavirus pandemic, Northern Ireland international McGinn claims the cup competition at least has to be played to a finish.
McGinn said: “The Scottish Cup is separate from the league, so regardless of what decisions the SPFL make, the cup competition should get finished, even if that means the semi-final against Celtic is our first game back. That has to be the hope anyway.
“There are no easy answers, but we all want the season to finish. It all depends really on when we do get back. Teams are more than likely going to need a pre-season again.
“You can run all day or train all day but none of that is ever the same as doing all the work together as a team and actually playing football.
“There are different options. I know league reconstruction is one option being spoken about.
“I don’t know how realistic that is, but is it an opportunity to sit down and see how we can improve Scottish football?
“Who knows, we will just have to wait and see what happens. But there are far more important things than football at the moment.”
McGinn, meanwhile, admits he has taken to cycling in a bid to maintain his fitness and insists there is no hiding place for the squad when it comes to training, despite working from home.
He added: “I bought myself a mountain bike, so I went out for a cycle on Wednesday last week.
“Our sports scientist Graham Kirk along with the coaches arranged some sessions remotely, so I did that on Thursday and went back on the bike Friday and Saturday. Last week was just about keeping the legs going.
“Graham then set up a new programme which started from Monday. The way it is set up, he can keep an eye on us, as can the manager and all the staff.
“We have all downloaded the app Strava so we can do all our training and he can monitor all the work that we are doing. I can do it all through my Apple watch, which acts as a tracker device.
“We can also monitor what each other is doing so we can see who has been out for a jog, who has been out for a cycle. It all logs up automatically.
“Most of the guys are doing their outdoor work in the morning, our one trip outside under the government rules, so the sports science guys can turn around the information at lunchtime, then we do some gym stuff in the afternoon inside.
“We don’t know what is going to happen, so we have to maintain our fitness and also where possible get outside to get some fresh air.”
McGinn also admits sticking to the government’s regulations regarding the coronavirus has made him realise how much he appreciates his everyday activities pre-lockdown.
He added: “As a footballer, you miss seeing all your teammates and it’s strange not being in that day to day environment in the dressing room, in the canteen, in the gym and out on the training pitch. You miss interacting with everyone and all the laughs.
“Until it’s all taken away from you, you maybe don’t fully realise or appreciate how good a life you do have.”
JOSH TAYLOR admits he fears he will not be able to step back into the ring until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The WBA and IBF super lightweight world champion’s mandatory bout with unbeaten Thai boxer Apinun Khongsong in Glasgow on May 2 was recently postponed.
And with senior health officials warning that it may take up to six months for life in the UK to return to normal, Edinburgh-born Taylor is having to get used to the fact he could face a long wait to even return to full training.
Taylor said: “It’s exciting times ahead, hopefully it all goes well but I might not even fight this year. There’s talk this might last until July, August, maybe even October time from reading the news.
“That would be no good at all, it’s not even as if I can keep ticking over in the gym with Ben [Davison, coach] because we’re supposed to be in lockdown and not having any contact with distances.
“I want to get this out of the way and get back to the gym and get back to normality. I guess everybody is the same.
“Obviously I was a bit annoyed with my fight being called off, I’m sure every fighter is the same.”
Taylor is also disappointed that he has been denied the chance to adapt to life with new trainer Davison for the time being, with his recent training camp in Las Vegas alongside stablemate Billy Joe Saunders being halted within days due to the health crisis.
Speaking to IFLTV, he added: “I was starting to get going with Ben and gelling.
“We flew out to Vegas and we didn’t know what was happening because Vegas went into lockdown as well, about a couple of weeks before us.”
The skateboard star had been aiming to become Britain’s youngest summer Olympian. Brown was born in Miyazaki, Japan on July 12 2008 and will have just turned 13 when the Games open as planned in Tokyo next year. Depending on the exact event re-scheduling, Brown appears likely to just miss out to swimmer Margery Hinton, who was 13 years and 14 days old at Amsterdam in 1924. But the extra practice will boost Brown, who holds a World Championship medal from 2019.