Scotland star gives witty Celtic v Aston Villa Champions League draw verdict and addresses McGregor retirement

Scotland star John McGinn has revealed his phone was on switched off when the Champions League draw was made - insisting he found out Aston Villa had been paired with Celtic after being inundated ticket requests.

The 29-year-old midfielder, who grew up as a Hoops supporter, was previously tipped to join his boyhood club from Hibs before opting for a move to Premier League side instead in 2018. The Villa Park skipper has declared he was hopeful that the Midlands club would swerve a potential clash with Brendan Rodgers’ men because of the amount of text messages he would receive.

“I'm absolutely delighted that it's in January,” McGinn confessed with a wry smile. “I had that two days with my phone off. Then when I found out it was the last game, I was like, ‘right, I'll deal with that after Christmas’. I wasn't watching the draw because I knew it was a one in four chance. As soon as I heard my phone buzzing, I thought, ‘oh no’. I know all my pals, all my family, I'm sure they'll be wanting Celtic to win. But it's something I've dealt with in the past with St Mirren and Hibs. I've got a job to do for Villa and I'm sure it'll be an exciting game for everyone.

“It’s my first experience in the Champions League with the new format, so it's very exciting to be involved in and obviously to play against Celtic. It'll be a bit strange. Speaking to Greg (Taylor) and James (Forrest) yesterday, we just had a laugh and a joke about it. But when the game comes up, I'm sure it'll be serious and we'll be wanting to beat each other on the biggest stage.

“It's a bit strange. I think the lads will have wanted to play at Celtic Park because I've ramped on about European nights there so many times to them. But for us, the buzz has really been just being involved the draw. It's the first time for Aston Villa for a long time. There's some mouth-watering ties for us, Bayern Munich and Juventus at home. Obviously for Aston Villa to play Bayern Munich - the team they beat to win the European Cup, - has certainly got everyone buzzing down the road.

“That's probably taken a bit of the shine off the Celtic fixture in that sense. So I've managed to avoid the lads' questions about the game. But certainly a few of them have mentioned it to me and they were wishing the game was the other way about.

“I've got a big enough family as well. So family and friends, they always want to come and see the biggest of games. But when it was Celtic, the phone was going off the hook. I thought about it and I thought, ‘nah’, I'd have rathered somebody else because nobody would want to come and see Monaco at home! Hopefully they can take the hint that I'm not getting any tickets.”

During his time with St Mirren and Hibs, McGinn enjoyed a fairly impressive record against his boyhood club and is relishing the chance to go up against Celtic once again, even if it means putting his affinity to one side for 90 minutes. “Yeah, I always manage to kind of blank it out I think,” he said. “You always have your team that you support growing up, your childhood team. It never, never leaves you. But when you play for a club, that's the team you support and you've got a job to do. It never, ever affected me as a player. I made my debut against Celtic. I always managed to do alright against them. So hopefully it's the same in January. But it certainly will be a little bit different being such a big game on the biggest stage.”

McGinn also reflected on Callum McGregor’s decision to retire from international football last month. “It's not taking me by surprise, “ he said. “He's not had a break in the summer for years. How he's managed to do what he's done is a credit to him. He's a great professional, great team-mate. And I'm sure if his body allowed him to carry on, he probably would have. He was passionate to play for Scotland.

“Certainly for us, especially the way he's playing, the way he's shooting from outside the box every game and finding the top corner... it's certainly going to be a big loss for us. It's been great to play alongside him. I suppose you never say never in football, but Cal’s made his call and we respect it and support him. Hopefully someone can step up in his place.”