McGinn ready to succeed mentor

SCOTLAND: Young midfielder hoping to lessen impact of Brown’s absence

John McGinn will be delighted if he can even be half the player Scott Brown was for Scotland.

With the Celtic midfielder now retired from international football, it has been just that wee bit quieter around the corridors of the Scots’ training base at Mar Hall these last few days.

The now former captain’s absence has been felt in the hotel and on the training pitch but it will be on the park that Brown will really be missed.

Many are looking to Hibs player McGinn to take his mentor’s place at the heart of the midfield for the Scots.

That may be a big burden on a 21-year-old who has only represented his country once alongside Brown in a friendly against Denmark in March.

As Gordon Strachan’s men prepare to travel to Malta tomorrow for Sunday’s opening World Cup qualifier, McGinn is ready to do what he can to lessen the impact of Brown’s absence.

He said: “Scott’s retirement gives me an opportunity. It was a surprise to me that he retired from Scotland. We have seen already this season just how good he can be and I’m sure in many years to come he will still be playing for Celtic.

“It’s disappointing I can’t be playing alongside him but it gives people like me a chance and other boys to step in and hopefully take his position.

“We still have an awful lot of top-quality midfielders in the squad though. You can see that out on the training pitch and it is up to me to prove to the manager and staff that I’m good enough to compete and give them a dilemma.”

“Scott always looked after me in the squad – I am a Hibee after all!” added McGinn, highlighting Brown’s Easter Road roots.

“He was a massive influence on me right at the start of my international career and if I can have half as good a Scotland career as Scott then I will be absolutely delighted. “He made sure I was under his wing. “It was brilliant to play alongside him in what was his 50th cap match against Denmark and it’s disappointing for all of us that he is not here.

“He spoke to me before the Denmark game and told me to go and do my own thing and he talked to me throughout the match,which helped to settle me in quickly.

“I will be forever grateful to him for that. Off the pitch he treated everyone the same and on the pitch he gave his all.

“It’s a real privilege for me to be involved with the national team and I want to use his inspiration to get better.”

The Malta match is a must-win for the Scots as they desperately try to get some momentum and enthusiasm going after a summer spent watching yet another major tournament on the TV.

McGinn is well aware of that as he prepares, hopefully, to take the first step on the road to Russia.

He said: “It’s a clean slate and another chance to get off to a good start.

“It’s not an easy start but we’re really positive going into the campaign.

“As a Scotland fan watching the last campaign, I felt we were really unlucky.

“We have a really good squad with top players and if we can show that and get results at important times then there’s no reason why we can’t qualify.

“We just need to focus on getting a win in Malta to start us off and hopefully that will stand us in good stead for the rest of the campaign.”

Meanwhile Russell Martin wants Gordon Strachan’s men to use the hurt felt from failure to qualify for Euro 2016 to inspire the team to the 2018 World Cup.

And the 30-year-old Norwich defender believes the recent pain can be used in a positive way by the Scots.

He said: “I think so, especially after watching the tournament in the summer, I still think we should have been there. It was frustrating and it certainly drives you on.

“To be that close to it, it has to, you have to turn that hurt into something and create something out of it, and hopefully we will do that this campaign.

“We were one win away and that hurt all of us. I don’t think people again expect us to be there (Russia) but maybe we are better like that, when people don’t expect it. We will have a right go like we did the last time.

“We came a little bit short hopefully this time we will take it all the way. We go into it full of positivity. It is a fresh challenge.”

Courier sports writer Ian Roache will be in Malta with Scotland. Read his report in Monday’s edition.

Pictures: SNS. John McGinn, left, played alongside Scott Brown when the former captain won his 50th cap.