JOHN McGinn admitted it would be ‘ironic’ if Brendan Rodgers ended up being his manager this season.
It does seem as if Aston Villa will appoint Thierry Henry as their new boss, with John Terry as an assistant, but the Celtic manager, who tried and failed to sign the Scotland midfielder from Hibernian, is on a list of candidates to take over a giant of a club, if one that has lost its way.
McGinn is back home on Scotland duty but there was only one matter at hand three days before the actual game in Israel.
Would he fancy Rodgers being his gaffer?
McGinn, with a grin, said: “That’s football, isn’t it? It’s ironic. We never know what’s going to happen. The international break has come at a good time for me, in that sense.
“Hopefully I get a couple of games for Scotland, go back and have a new manager to settle in with.
“I can’t affect that (what will happen). I think Brendan came out the other day and said he’s happy at Celtic, he’s got a job to do. So it would be unfair for me to comment on that and fuel the rumours.
“What will be will be.
“If it is Brendan Rodgers or if it is somebody else, I’ll soon see.”
What McGinn was more open about was the size and stature of Aston Villa.
McGinn said: “When you go down and see the place, it’s an eye opener. It’s a club that deserves to be in the top half of the top flight, a massive club. And that means it’s very demanding.
“Whoever comes in, it doesn’t matter what name they are. If they’re not getting results, there will be pressure.”
McGinniesta is not a very good nickname - although to be compared to the great Andres is nice - but it’s one which the Villa fans have given their new hero who has been excellent since his move despite the team not getting enough points, which led to Steve Bruce being sacked.
McGinn said: “I’m not sure about that comparison! I’ve just gone down and tried to do what I did at Hibs. The supporters always appreciated that at Hibs I put in 110 per cent in every game.
“I think that’s something that’s lacking a bit down south. Everything comes too easy. Scottish players can’t forget that we need to work for everything we get. That’s what I’m trying to do down there – and thankfully the fans have taken to me.”
And then there has been THAT goal.
McGinn’s volley against Sheffield Wednesday made him famous around the world but the 23-year-old dismissed much of the fuss because Villa went on to lose the game.
He said: “As Neil Lennon said, I didn’t do it for him up here – so I don’t think it counts.
“When I hit it, I knew it was in. Then it hit the bar and I had a wee panic.
“It was nice to score a goal like that. But it didn’t help the team that day. It was still a defeat and it started a negative run for us.
‘So, as nice as it was to score a goal like that, I’d rather have had a win.”
A goal and a win in Israel would be handy and it would impress a certain Frenchman is he is to become the new manager of Villa. Henry, after all, scored a few decent ones in his time.
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