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John McGinn plots Ally McCoist wind up 'every time I see him' after overtaking Rangers hero on Scotland scoring charts
It started by being controversially benched by Steve Clarke. And ended with overtaking Ally McCoist in the Scotland scoring charts.
In between times he played his part in two brilliant victories for the national team. It’s fair to say it’s been an eventful international break for John McGinn. But all the Tartan Army cares about is the smile is back on their talisman’s face – and he’s been using that famous backside to good effect again. All of which meant McGinn was in a good mood as he flew back from Warsaw this week.
He’d just bagged his 20th Scotland goal, jumping above legendary striker McCoist into the all-time top five. He said: “That’s just mental. The next time I see Ally I’m going to wind him up. It’s mad. I never thought I’d do that. In my first 15 caps I had no goals so to be in that position now is amazing.”
No doubt McCoist will have a wisecrack for the Aston Villa skipper. But in all seriousness, it meant the world to McGinn – and his dad Stephen as well. After Scotland’s sensational 2-1 victory over the Poles on Monday night, he was the first one on the phone to McGinn. The 30-year-old had gone 12 months without a goal for his country then notched two in a row against Croatia and Poland.
McGinn said: “I couldn’t kick my own backside for a year when it came to goals and now I’ve got two in two games. It’s been brilliant to see Ben Doak come in and offer us something different, that bit of pace.
“Everyone talks about his speed but against Poland he had the composure to see me three minutes into the game and deliver a great cutback. He’s been a breath of fresh air. Do I expect a text now from Ally? I don’t know but he was amazing for Scotland.
“So to be close to him is surreal. My dad sent me a message after the game on Monday, he was over in Poland. He’s not very emotional at the best of times but he said, ‘I’m proud watching you get into the top five for Scotland and hopefully there will be many more”. That was nice.”
But why had McGinn gone off the boil in front of goal? That’s a question he’s probably been asking himself. He knows he went through a period when he wasn’t at his best for Villa or Scotland. And he admits that when Clarke named him as a sub – on his return to the national squad after injury – for the Croatia game, it wasn’t something he is used to.
But in typical McGinn fashion, he responded brilliantly by grabbing a Nations League double over two fixtures. He said: “Why did the goals dry up? A mixture of bad form personally and for the team. Even for Villa I hadn’t scored in a long time. So it was just about staying patient and working at it.
“Thankfully I got a fluke for Villa against Bologna and then two alright goals for Scotland. Hopefully that kicks me on now and we’re back at it again in March for the Nations League play-off.
“I found it hard being on the bench for the Croatia game. I spoke to the lads about it. I’ve been very fortunate in my career not to have been benched a lot. But it happened twice in a week – for Villa at Anfield on the Saturday then at Hampden on the Friday night for Scotland.
“It’s part of football, you just have to stay positive around the lads. When you get older you realise that sulking and throwing the toys out the pram isn’t the answer. I kept my head down and when called upon I managed to help the team. Will the manager do it again? Hopefully not!”
Clarke’s Scotland side look reinvigorated after their horror show at Euro 2024 in Germany. A new, fresh approach has been adopted that allowed them to excel in the second half of the Nations League campaign. But couldn’t this attacking style of play have been deployed in the summer?
McGinn admits there are real regrets on that score. As he looked ahead to the play-off in March then the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, he said: “There are definitely regrets about the Euros. But we can’t change it now or dwell on it too much.
“If we had the option of young Ben and everyone is fit we’d have given a better account of ourselves. But we can’t hide away. We were rubbish and we have to improve if we want to do better in the next one. We had to change something after Germany. The summer was brutal.
“It wasn’t enjoyable for any of us. But we’ve changed to a back four, we’ve adapted and brought new faces in. There is still more to come and hopefully we can keep competing at this level.
“We had to do something. It was important to keep the core of the squad together – then add young players. But they have to be good enough. There are plenty knocking on the door. I’m lucky that I get to see Lennon Miller when I watch my brother Paul at Motherwell. He’s one who will be in before too long.
“Ben and Tommy Conway have got their opportunity and for every young player they have to show us what they can do. That’s what we did as youngsters coming in – you try to disrupt what’s there and add to it.”
And as for the Scotland scoring list, after surpassing McCoist, who is McGinn’s next target. He said: “It’s Lawrie Reilly – not that I’ve checked!”
