AS a passionate lifelong Celtic supporter as well as a former player and coach, Peter Grant would have liked nothing more than to see John McGinn sign for his beloved Parkhead club this summer.

Grant has worked with McGinn in the Scotland set-up since being appointed assistant to manager Alex McLeish back in March and realised early on that the considerable hype surrounding the midfielder was more than justified.

He knows the 23-year-old’s ability, athleticism, physicality and sheer will to win would have been invaluable to the Glasgow outfit both domestically and in Europe in the 2018/19 campaign and in seasons to come had he joined them.

However, the one-time Norwich City, Reading and Bournemouth ball winner still believes the ex-St Mirren and Hibernian man has made exactly the right decision moving to English Championship club Aston Villa instead.

Grant feels it is important to McGinn’s continued development that he plays competitive football on a weekly basis and with Scott Brown and Olivier Ntcham both firmly established in Brendan Rodgers’s team there was no guarantee of that at Celtic.

But the nine-times capped has featured regularly for Steve Bruce in the second tier down south since completing a transfer to Villa Park at the beginning of this month and has made an immediate impact.

His compatriot feels the country, who take on Belgium and Albania at Hampden next month, can only reap the rewards.

“I was at Ipswich last week and the Villa fans were chanting John McGinn’s name,” said Grant. “It’s great for us. He’s been a bit hit for them right away. It doesn’t matter if a club has paid £10 million or whatever, you need to go in and earn your stripes once you are in the door and he has done that.

“Perhaps John was thinking he needed to go to keep playing every week. I have always said to players you want to play, 100 per cent. Your career is so short. People can have money, but, let me tell you, the greatest frustration for a player is going home after a Saturday or midweek game and you have still got the suit on and haven’t played.

“John has gone to Villa and the fans have really taken to him. It looks to me like he has made the right decision. He is at a massive club with huge expectations. It’s completely different to what he was used to at Hibs. It’s how he handles it. Aston Villa are the Man United of that division. They are expected to win most weeks and to win the league.”

Grant, though, is another who feels it is unfair to expect McGinn to fill the considerable void left by Scott Brown, who retired from international football in February, in the Scotland side.

“They are different types of players,” he said. “He’s more of a throwback to my days, he’s an old fashioned midfielder. He has the energy to play further up the pitch and cause problems for the opposition.

“But in terms of personality, he could be that kind of player for us. He has that in his locker. He is one of these guys who generates enthusiasm in the group, he gives the crowd a spark, he is in perpetual motion.

“It’s fantastic for us he’s gone to Villa to play games and Steve Bruce has shown so much trust in him. It says a lot that as soon as Steve got a bit of money, the first thing he did was go and buy McGinn. He’s been a roaring success so far and hopefully he continues that with Scotland.”

Still, Grant feels McGinn will be doing well to get a start when Scotland take on Russia 2018 semi-finalists Belgium in a friendly at Hampden on Friday, September 8, and then Albania in their opening Nations League game at the same venue three days later.

Because the former Fulham coach has also been impressed by how Tom Cairney and Kevin McDonald have performed for the newly-promoted London club in the top flight in England and knows there is now fierce competition for the central midfield berths.

“I worked with Tom and Kevin closely at Craven Cottage,” he said. “They are top players. They are now playing very well in the Premier League. That can only be good for Scotland

“They are very comfortable in possession. At this level, you have to be able to handle the ball as you are up against some of the top international players in the world. Some players go in to the Premier League and can’t handle it because they can’t keep the ball - these two have proved they can.

“It’s massive to see them playing against the best every week and training with better players every week. Fulham have spent £104m and the quality they are up against to stay in the side will only make them improve further. We’ll get the benefit with Scotland.”

Grant continued: “Tom is a creator, he can create opportunities to score goals and scores them himself. He was in the team of the year in the Championship. Kevin captained the side.

“When I was manger at Norwich I tried to sign Kevin along with Paul Dixon, but Dundee didn’t want to let them go. Kevin went down to Wolves then on to Sheffield United. Sometimes you have to fit in to the jigsaw at certain teams, but he has found his place at Fulham. He’s top talent and it’s great they are getting that exposure.”

The players in the 23 man squad that McLeish has selected for the forthcoming double header have only netted a total of 10 goals between them, but Grant is confident that scoring will not be an issue with players like Cairney at their disposal.

“There are goals in the team,” he said. “Cairney is a creator, (Callum) McGregor scores goals from midfield, (Leigh) Griffiths will score in any company, (Stuart) Armstrong too and young Ryan Fraser is on fire at Bournemouth.

“Oli McBurnie has been on the scoresheet for Swansea this season and hopefully he’ll be up and running from Scotland. He had chances in Mexico and Peru but what that trip showed us is we need to get more bodies in the box.

We want to be brave going forward, go and express yourselves because we have to try to win games. If you end up losing, at least have a go.”