John McGinn ’embarrassment’: Aston Villa star torn to shreds for what he said
Aston Villa captain John McGinn has earned plaudits for his recent performances for club and country but his dressing down of comments made by Lennon Miller have not gone down well in all quarters.
McGinn was outstanding in Scotland’s 1-0 victory away at Greece in the UEFA Nations League, and the 30-year-old has continued to shine under Unai Emery for Villa.
However, recent comments made by the midfielder about Miller have been called into question, with McGinn a senior player for the Scotland national team.
Despite the win against Greece, there has been some turbulence behind the scenes, with McGinn adding fuel to the fire after teenager Miller was called up to the squad.
John McGinn slammed for Lennon Miller comments
Motherwell teenager Lennon Miller is one of Scottish football’s brightest prospects, and the 18-year-old was called up to the latest squad by Steve Clarke.
However, Miller landed himself in trouble by claiming that he could be the best player in the squad “in a couple of months”.
McGinn questioned his comment, but did also point out the difficulty of being a young player in the senior squad.
| Scotland stat | John McGinn |
| Appearances | 73 |
| Goals | 20 |
“He’s probably thinking – why did I say that? But I said plenty of stupid things when I was coming through at St Mirren,” McGinn stated of Miller.
However, this response has now been slammed by Gary Keown, who criticised the Villa star as well as Scotland assistant manager John Carver for not backing the youngster.
“John McGinn needs to have a look at himself for slapping Miller down while Carver ought to reflect upon some of the stuff he’s been caught coming out with himself in press conferences of times past,” Keown wrote in the Scottish Mail on Sunday, (page 97, 23 March).
Was John McGinn wrong to criticise Lennon Miller comments?
Whilst McGinn meant no ill-intent towards Miller with his comments, the media storm that has since ensued suggests that this was the wrong approach.
McGinn has been in Miller’s shoes before, having come through at St Mirren and Hibernian before eventually earning his move to Villa Park, and whilst he is now an established Premier League player, it was a long process over the years.
Miller’s comments, although somewhat ludicrous, do reflect the teenager’s ambitious mentality, and McGinn did highlight the difficulties he also faced when earning a surprise call-up to the Scotland squad.
“I remember Charlie Adam did an interview on my first day from Stoke’s training ground asking why there were Scottish Championship players getting called up, which wasn’t too helpful at the time,” McGinn pointed out.
Should Miller continue his promising development at Motherwell, he may eventually start playing alongside McGinn for Scotland, and this could be a partnership to keep an eye on in the future.