The McGinns have become a household name in Scottish football but that hasn’t put a stop to things going at 100-miles-per hour.
First there’s John, who has been named captain of Aston Villa by legendary Premier League midfielder Steven Gerrard. Not bad for someone also in the engine room.
Then there’s Stephen, who is continuing to motor on with his playing career even as it approaches its twilight, looking to help Falkirk out of their League 1 doldrum.
Finally we get to Paul, who probably lays claim to being the busiest sibling this summer. He’s had two new managers, a move to a fresh employer and a wedding to contend with. It’s been a hectic time but one he’s tried to take in.
It has been difficult at times. The highs of signing for a different club matched with the boss heading for pastures new within eight weeks was tough, but in former opponent Steven Hammell, McGinn reckons he’s got a good chance of settling down.
That is what he feels can benefit him after a tumultuous year at Hibs saw him injured for a sustained spell and watch Jack Ross, Shaun Maloney and David Gray take charge of the club in various spells.
“In the last year I have had Jack Ross, Shaun Maloney, Graham Alexander, and I didn’t really deal with Lee Johnson at Hibs,” stated the right-back on his recent permanent gaffers.
“In the last season I have worked with four permanent managers so I am hoping that will begin to settle down now. I had signed my extension at Hibs a while back so it wasn’t another surprise to me when it came out in the papers, it was under Shaun Maloney I had signed that.
“It is just the way it is. That’s modern football. It looks as if it is going that way. From what I gather it is Callum Davidson at St Johnstone who is now the longest serving manager in the Premiership (appointed as boss in 2020). It just shows you.”
Hammell’s interim reign kicked off with a 1-0 win at St Mirren and while a defeat to St Johnstone last time out at Fir Park was tough to swallow, last week’s 3-2 victory at Aberdeen got the Steelmen back on track.
“I am really happy with how things have panned out with the manager,” the 31-year-old said.
“He knows the club inside-out, doesn’t he? He has seen the good here and he has seen the bad. He knows what is needed to bring the good times back here. I think it is a no-brainer from the club.
“I am pretty sure I have played against him earlier in my career. He was always one of the players that people spoke about at Motherwell as a great player.
“He is a Motherwell legend. Of course he needs time. Give him a few weeks to get some players in.
“The club has not messed about with the appointment which is probably beneficial. They got the interviews done quickly and got it sorted.”
His marriage was slotted in somewhere along that timeline of football change and he’s taken a leaf out the Ricki Lamie book of wedding descriptions when talking about his big bash.
Lamie was the last player under the MFC programme interview microscope, and described his wedding as “We had around 100 bodies there so it was more than enough.” It was subsequently picked up on the well-known ‘Football Cliches’ podcast for his Harry Redknapp- like description of a guestlist and his defensive partner has had a go at similar.
“It’s been a busy summer for the McGinns, I got married as well,” he started. “It is always busy with the three of us. I don’t know how I can describe my wedding like that.
“I will have to try and think of a football cliché to go along with it. Everybody gave it their all and played until the last minute!
“We took advantage of that free bar anyway. John had nothing to do with it sadly but he does help out otherwise. The nephews and nieces get the benefit of John.”
Overall, the capped Scotland defender is enjoying his early introductions in ML1, despite the upheaval. Defeat to Sligo Rovers in the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds was tough, but there’s only one way you can go when you hit the bottom according to McGinn.
Counterpart Stephen O’Donnell has spoken of the need for fresh faces and his defensive team- mate hopes he and others can bring that freshness.
Motherwell has established itself as one of Scotland’s best-run community clubs in recent years and it’s that community feel which helped attract one third of the McGinn brotherhood to ML1.
Now under a new manager in Hammell, there is fresh optimism that a positive season can be had under the club stalwart.
“Stephen probably looks at things as part of a bigger picture,” said McGinn. “He probably sees things a bit different to me as I was one of the ones hopefully coming in here to bring in something new to the team.
“It is just the same as anything. With the start we had, you do probably need somebody to come in and provide an injection around the place.
“It was all fine until Sligo, I would say. Even the Sligo game was frustrating because we lost the goal off a mistake and then you are chasing the tie.
“They then score an unbelievable goal early in the second leg and then you are left chasing your tail two games into the season when our match sharpness and fitness probably wasn’t there.
“I would have fancied us to win the tie if we had taken the lead but it is all well saying that. There is no point looking back now, we just need to move on.
“You just need to look at Celtic and Rangers, sometimes having bad nights and then having good seasons. There is no reason why we can’t do the same.
“I have settled in really well. It is a really well run club and everybody in the country seems to know that about Motherwell just now. It is good to be at a place that is stable so now we just need to improve the performances on the pitch to go along with that off the park.”
On a personal note, McGinn wants to bounce back from a first full year back in front of fans post pandemic. An injury marred his involvement to some extent with Hibs last year, who struggled to get any rhythm going as they changed managers twice over the campaign.
Jake Carroll’s unfortunate injury which may end his season very early means that a move to the left could beckon for the club’s right-back recruit while a hunt for fresh blood goes on.
Optimism is in play but for the former Hibs man, there’s plenty more to come from Motherwell this season which has not yet come to the fore in full. That will come in time and the immediate reaction to adversity has been strong.
Now he hopes to stay on the park and contribute to similar success that saw last season book a stop in European football. There was a settled life in Edinburgh, which may be transferred to Lanarkshire.
“I don’t think you are seeing the full potential of us as a club just now but that is just the way it goes if you start like that and you lose the manager,” McGinn added.
“Hopefully now that we have that settled manager we can start to kick on. I had a bad injury last year that ruled me out for a while but touch wood over the course of my career I haven’t had too many bad injuries.
“It was just the way it worked out. I was pretty settled at Hibs and playing so hopefully I can have the same here. It is two years I have signed up for.
“There’s a lot of competition at right-back now but me and Stephen might need to do a shift at left-back with the news Jake
is now injured. After Sligo we were probably as low as you can get so to show that reaction in recent games is a boost.
“It was good to get that early but right now it is early doors. Motherwell seems like a good place to be.”
