BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT
Why the Duke of Cambridge was McGinn’s toughest opponent yet
JOHN McGINN admits it hurt to see his brother Stephen released by St Mirren last week. The Paisley club announced the departures of 13 first-team players last Tuesday, with the club captain among the most notable names on the list.
Saints intend to use the government’s furlough scheme to prevent free agents becoming immediately unemployed, but the coronavirus crisis is likely to simultaneously flood the market and drive down wages this summer.
McGinn insists Stephen has been harshly treated after shunning better offers to return to his first club when it was struggling in the Championship.
‘Loyalty is a difficult topic in football,’ admits the Aston Villa midfielder. ‘There are so many ways you can look at it and I obviously have a bias towards my brother.
‘But it doesn’t sit too well with me given what he’s done for St Mirren. I know what football is like and I know he had injuries but I’ll take it back to when he rejoined (January 2017). St Mirren were rooted in the Championship, right up against it, and he had choices, the chance to go to the Premiership.
‘I remember advising him to stay as high as he could and he said “No, St Mirren gave me a chance, I’m going back there to help out and get back my love for football”.
‘Every St Mirren fan will tell you he single-handedly dragged the team safe that season.
‘Obviously, he’s hurting and we’re all hurting for him but I’m sure he’ll be back playing football soon and proving
everyone wrong.’ The youngest of the three footballing brothers at 25, John has enjoyed the most rapid rise since breaking through at St Mirren as a teenager before moving on to Hibs and now Villa. He admits both Stephen and Paul, 29 and now at Hibs, remain an inspiration and an anchor as he stars for Scotland and in the English Premier League.
‘Growing up watching football, I had the obvious role models till I was 16, 17,’ says McGinn. ‘Then Stephen started playing for St Mirren and I was obsessed. They’ve both been an influence.
‘The other side of it is that if I complain or grumble about anything, I have the two of them saying they would swap me.
‘I’m very fortunate to have that beside me. I don’t think I could be as mentally strong without them there.’