ONE pearl of advice transformed Niall McGinn from a peripheral player into a polished striker.
It came from Craig Brown, who is convinced that the Aberdeen forward has grown into such an accomplished player since leaving Celtic two years ago that even the champions would covet him now.
The 27-year-old returns to Celtic Park - where he scored in both Aberdeen's SPFL Premiership visits last term - on the back of a successful week for Northern Ireland.
McGinn inspired a comeback for Michael O'Neill's team in Budapest last Tuesday, by scoring an equaliser against Hungary before setting up Kyle Lafferty's winner in the 2-1 Euro 2016 qualifying triumph.
Brown was the man who signed McGinn in June 2012 after the then-winger's contract had expired at Celtic. The former Aberdeen manager - now a director at Pittodrie - played a crucial role in changing McGinn's psyche in the box, and now club and country are profiting.
"Niall is a different player to the one who left Celtic," said Brown. "He's grown in confidence with Aberdeen and Northern Ireland and I think he would fit in very well to the Celtic team now.
"Celtic had Gary Hooper then, so the chances there were limited. He was used mostly as a wide player - but I told Niall that 'if you want to play as a winger, you're not coming to Pittodrie. We need you as a striker.'"
The secret of McGinn's success was a quiet word from Brown in the ear of the shy 'quiet man' from County Tyrone. "Niall used to shoot a lot from distance and every one had to be a glory attempt," explained the former Scotland manager. "I told him to calm down and that 'the net is your team-mate'. I told him to pass the ball into the net - and he started scoring.
"Niall got his first international goal away to Portugal that year, when Northern Ireland drew 1-1 there, which gave him more confidence. But what I really liked more than his goal, was that he contributed to the team crucially that night by marking Cristiano Ronaldo - that was Ronaldo's poorest game for Portugal.
"Yet that sums up Niall. If you ask him to do something he'll do it properly. Niall is a very quiet and modest boy who has no ego."
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