Paul McGinn has played over 500 professional matches in his career to date. Joining the Steelmen back in the summer of 2022, this campaign at Motherwell will mark his longest spell spent at a club.
Going into his fourth season, the Motherwell skipper is raring to go after a turbulent 2024/25 campaign that saw him only feature 13 times across the last 12 months.
“It’s mad. This’ll be the longest I’ve been at a club,” Paul McGinn laughed.
“I suppose you could almost dilute last year, as it doesn’t count. Queen’s Park was quite long, but nothing else was too long. People must just get sick of me, I think.”
His troublesome campaign ended on a somewhat high note for the defender, however. Penning a new deal at the club to secure his near future and a return to full fitness all had him primed and focused for a far more successful campaign this season.
“There wasn’t really any doubt about wanting to stay here,” McGinn explained.
“I think the year before, there had been a bit of uncertainty, but this year, it just felt like I’d missed so much, but the club had been really good to me throughout.
“It would be pretty easy, as an older player, for them to turn round and say, ‘No, he needs this done; send him to the scrap heap.’ So, they were really good with me, and that just makes you feel like you want to be here as well.
“Football can be so cynical at times. It’s quite rare to feel wanted, so when you get it, you feel it. Initially, when I came in, Graham Alexander came all the way to mine in Bishopton and showed a real desire to bring me here. That plays a part in your decision- making.
“You’ve got Callum [Slattery], Matty [Connelly] and Stephen [O’Donnell] in there, but beyond those guys, I’m not sure if there are others who have been here as long as me. It’s home for sure.”
With his magnitude of experience and consistency on and off the pitch, McGinn was the obvious choice to take the armband at the start of the 24/25 season.
Describing it as an honour and a privilege, his game time may have been limited, but that didn’t prevent him from having to carry out the captain’s duties.
“We always laugh with this in the dressing room,” the 34-year-old added.
“I did all the captain stuff without any of the perks, like leading the team onto the pitch! It’ll be nice to hopefully do that this year. It’s good you’ve been trusted with the responsibility, but also trying to get the boys to do certain things is tough.”
But the responsibility of being a captain stretches way beyond planning players’ tickets for matches; there is a duty to look after and help everyone in the dressing room, particularly the younger players.
“I try to go back to when I was a younger one,” the Scotland internationalist stated.
“It’s so easy to forget how nervous some young boys can be coming into the environment. Don’t get me wrong; I can moan quite a lot, but I do try to think of that. We’ve got experience in there as well; it’s not just me. I think the young boys have been leaning on your Andy Halliday’s, Liam Gordon’s and Stephen O’Donnell’s.”
Back on the playing side, McGinn is keen to right the wrongs of the previous campaign and feels he’s in the best possible position to do so.
It was this time 12 months ago during the pre-season trip to the Netherlands, that an ankle injury delayed his start to the season.
“I think it can’t be a coincidence that the season didn’t go the way I wanted after that,” McGinn explained.
“Listen, these things happen. I’ve had a long career, and I’ve been lucky that I’ve only had one season like that, so hopefully, that’s the only one.
“Some of these things are down to luck as well. Big Liam Gordon, or hatchet man, as I call him now, could make that tackle one million times, and it doesn’t land on my ankle or my ankle doesn’t roll.
“But the camp this season was brilliant, and I got through it unscathed, so hopefully, I can have a good season.”
And the plans for a successful 25/26 season have been long in the making. Towards the latter stages of last season, McGinn had completed his rehabilitation and was ready for action.
However, his experience shone through, and he opted to hold off playing until pre-season.
“It was a bit lucky in terms of the manager who got us safe quite early, and I thought about just not taking the risk,” he said.
“Which is, even though I was desperate to go in there and play, the sensible option, and hopefully it bears fruit going forward this season.
“The new manager has been very impressive so far. He’s got that presence, the big scary Scandinavian, but I also like the way he wants us to play. I see some similarities with teams like Aston Villa, not to put too much pressure on it.
“I think it will be successful, but it maybe needs some patience from everyone, and that’s not something we have loads of, to be quite honest. Hopefully, we can grab and implement his style and ideas early on. Already, you can see big strides being made in a short period of time, so hopefully in these Cup games, we can see us improving as a team.”
The week-long pre-season camp in the Netherlands was a successful one. It was a chance for new manager Jens Berthel Askou to observe his players up close and presented the opportunity to get to know everyone individually.
When the players were off the pitch, work continued. The squad attended regular meetings with the football staff, where they could discuss and explain the game model for the season.
“There were a lot of meetings, but they were showing you what you’re going to be working on,” McGinn emphasised.
“It’s not as if it was meetings about a bunch of random stuff and everyone is everywhere. They were structured, and they’re not too long either; I know managers who do two-hour meetings. So the boys are quite happy, and it’s detailed, which provides clarity.
“We’ve got a core group of players that you need. Everyone knows we had so many players going out, and there’s going to be a spell when we’re a bit thin. I’m sure the manager would’ve loved to have worked with his full squad, but that’s not football.
“With a few new faces, hopefully we can all gel nicely, and with a bit of luck, we won’t have three million players this season.”
With the pre-season at an end, the competitive action has kicked in the Premier Sports Cup group-stage. A stage of the competition Motherwell have an impressive record in, the group-stage ensures you play against organised teams at an early stage of the season.
The topic of discussion is always around if these games come around too soon and if they are glorified friendlies, but McGinn believes the squad are duty-bound to give it everything.
“What I’d love is to have more midweek games through the season,” the number 16 said.
“That way, you’ve got a bigger break, and these games don’t feel as early. I know it’s to do with Europe and international games; I’m just glad it’s not me organising it. I like competitive games better than friendlies anyway.
“Trust me, the boys who were here when we got beaten by Airdrie know exactly how competitive these games are, and the fans won’t put up with anything less than 100%.
“If people pay good money, we have to give it our all. I’m part of a collective that needs to make sure everyone is up for it, and I’m sure the manager will make it known that these are serious games also.
“We must make sure nobody is beating us with an easy game. We’re the top-seeded team, and the pressure is on us. We’ll own that pressure, and we will try our best to get out of the group.”
