Grant: Mcginn made the right decision to go to Villa

Peter Grant’s Celtic association is deep and long established but he already senses John Mcginn was right to choose Aston Villa over the Parkhead club.

The Scotland assistant manager hopes the international side will reap the benefit of Mcginn playing every week at such an ultra-competitive level as the Championship. Cast as a potential replacement for Scott Brown in time, it was not a given that Mcginn would play every week had he joined Celtic. This debate became academic when he chose to leave Hibernian for the English Championship earlier this month after Celtic matched Villa’s bid.

Grant, who made nearly 500 appearances for Celtic, is also well aware of Aston Villa’s potential having been assistant manager there under current Scotland boss Alex Mcleish. He travelled to watch Mcginn make his second Villa appearance at Ipswich Town two weekends ago.

“The Villa fans were chanting John Mcginn’s name,” said Grant. “It’s great for us [Scotland]. He’s been a big hit for them right away. It doesn’t matter if a club has paid £10 million or whatever, you need to go in and earn your stripes once you are in the door.

“Perhaps John was thinking he needed to go to keep playing every week. I have always said to players you want to play, 100 per cent. Your career is so short. People can have money, but, let me tell you, the greatest frustration for a player is going home after a Saturday or midweek game and you have still got the suit on and haven’t played.

“John has gone there and Villa fans have really taken to him. It looks to me like he has made the right decision. He is at a massive club with huge expectations. It’s completely different to what he was used to at Hibs. It’s how he handles it. ”

While they may not be similar players, Grant is confident Mcginn can impose his personality on the Scotland team to the extent Brown managed. Brown has now retired from international football leaving the way clear for Mcginn to establish himself in midfield in the forthcoming games againstbelgiumandalbania.

“They are different types of players,” said Grant. “He [Mcginn) is more of a throwback to my days, he’s an oldfashioned midfielder. He has the energy to play further up the pitch and cause problems for the opposition.

“But in terms of personality, he could be that kind of player for us. He has that in his locker. He is one of these guys who generates enthusiasm in the group, he gives the crowd a spark, he is in perpetual motion. It’s fantastic for us he’s gone to Villa to play games. Steve Bruce has shown so much trust in him. It says a lot that as soon as Steve got a bit of money, the first thing he did was go and buy Mcginn. He’s been a roaring success so far and hopefully he continues that with Scotland.”