Motherwell skipper on Celtic-linked team mate and that red card call

McGinn, the experienced former St Mirren, Dumbarton, Dundee, Partick Thistle and Hibernian defender who is the captain at Fir Park, suspected the new recruit would struggle to cope with both the intensity and physicality of the game in this country.

“I looked at him and thought, ‘Scottish football? You could be in bother here!’,” he said as he looked back on the William Hill Premiership defeat to Celtic at Parkhead at the weekend and ahead to the league meeting with Hibernian at home this Saturday.

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But Just, who put Jens Berthel Askou’s side ahead against Martin O’Neill’s team with a well-taken first half strike, has experienced no difficulties adapting to the rough and tumble of football on these shores. Quite the contrary. He has been nothing short of a revelation.

“He's brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” said McGinn. “When you look at a player like that, a guy who is diminutive and left footed, you think, ‘He’s a flair player’. But he's not. He's a grafter, he works his socks off.

 “I don't know if the stats will back it this up, but he's good at winning the ball back. He's so good at it in fact. He's so sharp. He's such a clever footballer. He knows where to be and when to be there. I suppose if you're that height you need to be, which is a shame. But, yeah, he's an unbelievable footballer.

“When we went down to 10 men against Celtic (after Emmanuel Longelo had given away a penalty and been red carded for a foul on Daizen Maeda in the second half) he moved to left-back and he was good, really good.

“You could see him grow in confidence. He was still going on runs. His goal was not a fluke either. You have seen him do it countless times. He is just absolutely immense. I would hate to lose him. But if he keeps playing like that then he doesn't stay at Motherwell. Hopefully it's not soon.”

Motherwell's Paul McGinn (Image: Andrew Milligan)

Just, who has been linked with Celtic as a result of his excellent displays for Motherwell during the 2025/26 season, will represent his country in the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States this summer.

So does McGinn, who made an appearance for Scotland against Austria back in 2021, feel the 38-times capped player can win a move to a bigger club by performing well in the Group G matches against, if they take part, Iran, Egypt and Belgium in June?

“It's hard to expect him to have a good World Cup because he's with New Zealand,” he said. “I don't want to be disrespectful, but it's going to be tough for them. I don't know if it will suit him to not get the ball the same way he gets it here. So maybe that's not the avenue. But I'd be surprised if people aren't here in Scotland watching him.”

Still, McGinn is confident that Just, the player he thought might toil against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on a wet Tuesday night in December, is more than capable of excelling at a far higher level in future.   

“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I don’t think it's a doubt just because he's so clever. The pitch on Saturday was the best one we've played on in a while. A pitch like that suits him down to the ground. So if he goes higher up I think he will do even better.”

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Askou felt that referee John Beaton should have shown Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain a red card instead of a yellow for his foul on Just in the seventh minute at Parkhead on Saturday. His skipper believes if the defending Scottish champions had been reduced to 10 men at that early stage then the final outcome may have been different.

“If it falls in our favour we have a good afternoon,” he said as he reflected on the 3-1 loss. “But it didn't so that's football. You need a bit of luck as well. Look, we've had plenty this season so hopefully going forward we get it again." 

Motherwell, though, impressed before Longelo was ordered off. They committed men forward from kick-off, enjoyed sustained pressure in the final third and forced their hosts to resort to counter attacks at times. McGinn is proud of how he and his team mates have acquitted themselves this term.

“It's a bit bizarre, but it shows where we are,” he said. “There were loads of good moves where we got out. Maybe just that wee bit in the final third was missing again. There are things we will look at. But it wasn’t easy as they're a top team with top players. I'd like to go to Parkhead again after the split and not be on the wrong end of the result.

Motherwell's Elijah Just receives treatment at Celtic Park (Image: Andrew Milligan)

“It’s good for Scottish football that other teams can come into it. It can only be a positive. But loads of things need to come together. You need to get lucky with recruitment. It's really tough. Celtic and Rangers have probably had their weakest seasons for a long time. So things like that do help.”

Fourth-placed Motherwell are six points ahead of Hibs with three games to go until the top six split and their captain is eager for the Fir Park men, who have suffered back-to-back defeats, to get back to winning ways in the coming weeks and secure a European spot. 

“That's two losses in a row,” he said. “I don't want to just peter out here. We need to stick around. We've got a real big one coming up. Hibs are on our tail now so we can't just rest on our laurels. We need to make sure we stay where we are. We don't want to look back with regret.”