John McGinn has admitted that the prospect of regular first team football was one of the factor that drove him to Aston Villa.
The saga of the midfielder dominated much of Celtic’s summer business, forcing Brendan Rodgers to go public with his frustrations on the eve of the Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens.
Celtic had three bids rejected by Hibs for the 23-year-old before Aston Villa appeared on the scene and sorted out a deal.
It’s unclear whether or not Celtic matched that offer but after being given permission to visit Villa and meet up with Steve Bruce the odds were stacked against McGinn switching to Celtic.
The full story or what went on, and crucially what didn’t go on is unlikely to emerge for some time with the midfielder giving a diluted version to The Herard.
“I was so used to playing at St Mirren and then Hibs all the time, so it was really important that the next place I was going I was going to play,” he said.
“Thankfully, the manager so far has shown faith in me to go and play. It’s a massive club with great aspirations.
“They are in a similar situation to Hibs when I joined them, the fans are sort of distant and slightly fed up with what has gone on and it’s up to us to change that.
“The only way we can do that is by getting results and getting the club back to the Premier League.
“I didn’t realise the scale of the club until I got my teeth into it. They crave success the same way that the Hibs fans did, and thankfully we’ve managed to put a smile back on their faces.
“They’re getting sell-outs now every week, and that’s the aim down there, to try and get bums back on seats and to try and get the club into the top-flight and competing in the top half of the table. Hopefully we can do it.”
After yesterday’s draw at Brackburn Villa are sitting in 12th place in The Championship with 10 points from seven matches.