In Skopje these past few days it's been difficult to figure out the most devout people - the local followers of the city's most sacred daughter, Mother Teresa, or the arriving Scots and their most cherished son, Saint John Mc Ginn. Faith in the blessed one is absolute (and the same goes for Teresa). Raise a critical note and you could be shot down in flames. Point out that Mc Ginn's talismanic excellence has been on the wane in international football for a little while now and you're liable to reap a whirlwind. This is a weekend when Andy Robertson wins his 100th cap, but Mc Ginn isn't far behind. After Saturday night he'll be on 92, third on the all-time appearance list while currently sitting in fifth in the all-time scoring chart, one behind the immortal Lawrie Reilly.
"The nature of the beast is, at club and country, you have a lot of responsibility, a lot of weight on your shoulders," he said. "When you do something well, you're the best thing since sliced bread. When you don't have a great couple of games, or you're not producing assists, or you make a poor pass in a pivotal moment of the game, you're automatically not good enough." It's the nature of being my age (he'll be 32 later in the month). It's the nature of competing with Scotland and with Aston Villa. I take the praise with a big smile. Any criticism that comes, it's just part of it.
Mc Ginn's influence for his country has probably reduced from the mighty highs of before. None of the pride and passion and phenomenal work-rate has gone, but the game-defining moments have not been there, save for the odd glimpse. Haiti, and the double deflection, sticks out, but beyond that, Mc Ginn has been too quiet for too long. Being Mc Ginn, he could dominate and score in Skopje, but a reminder of his talent is overdue.
"No, no. I'm certainly not undroppable," he replied when asked if he felt undroppable. "I remember Steve Clarke put me on the bench and I had absolutely no issue with that. I don't think anyone in the squad is undroppable. It's the challenge to anyone coming into the squad and I encourage that challenge."
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing