John McGinn tells Scotland fans where to place Kool-Aid frustrations amid ‘March or September’ warning

Scotland may have got the win they needed against North Macedonia on Friday night; however, the grumble of discontent which greeted the final whistle proved that supporters are not yet ready to drink the Sebastien Pocognoli Kool-Aid.

Rescued by two second-half goals from John McGinn, the Aston Villa skipper spared his side’s blushes as they ran out 2-1 winners to keep alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the Nations League playoffs. Their overall performance was perhaps best described as patchy, though.

Booed off the park by sections of the home crowd at the break, McGinn admits he takes no issue with the Tartan Army voicing their displeasure at the team’s on-pitch displays, but has pleaded with them to vent their ire at himself and the more experienced names in Scotland’s dressing room than the fresh faces as they look to adjust to Pocognoli’s methods.

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McGinn celebrates his opening goal agaisnt North Macedonia on Friday. | SNS Group

“The manager's got a great reputation and a good record at both places he's went,” said McGinn following his two goal haul. “The most important thing now in football is individuals don't win you games. It's unity, teamwork and everyone on the same page. And you see how successful clubs do it, successful countries and we want to be one of them. It's not going to happen overnight.

“There's a lot to learn but we did create big chances in the game where we could have scored three, four or five and it could be a different story. This isn't something that gets fixed in March or even next September. it will start to build over the next 18 months. I think the young players are starting to show now more. Luke Graham tonight, I thought he was brilliant, it's not easy playing in the middle of a back three.

“He's been waiting for his chance and the manager's shown that if you deserve your chance you're going to get put in there. So we need players like Luke, Porto [Ryan Porteous] coming back, Doaky [Ben Gannon-Doak] showed glimpses tonight. So we've got so many players that can step up and they will. We just need to show that belief and take it to pitch.”

Asked if he felt the fans need to show patience, McGinn said: “Maybe a bit. I understand it's frustrating; it's freezing, you want to see four, five, six goals, but the balance has got to be there. They're entitled to their opinion, but there's got to be a mixture of patience. But at the same time, the supporters are entitled to say whatever they like. But just as long as they hurl anything they want to shout at the experienced boys. Just let the young ones flourish and try to settle into the team.”

Awarded player of the match against North Macedonia, the 31-year-old’s brace shot himself into joint-third in Scotland’s record goalscorers list. McGinn’s international goal tally is now 24, drawing level with Hughie Gallacher, six short of Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law. Asked if it had sunk in yet, the former Hibs man kept his focus on the team, insisting Monday’s clash against Switzerland holds more importance as they look to give themselves a chance of qualifying for the Nations League playoffs.

“A bit strange obviously but at the minute that's gone to the back burner,” said McGinn. “We need to play slightly better. We know that but we're going through a period which I've been used to at club level, a lot of changes, a lot of detail that we need to try and remember and get used to. It's about sticking at it. We're keen to play a style of football that's not easy but it's going to get bums off seats.

McGinn celebrates scoring Scotland’s winning goal. | (Jane Barlow/PA)

“It takes time, over a few years now at club level it's been the exact same for us but the supporters stuck with us, the players stuck at it and it's important that everyone believes in it because if one person drops off or doesn't believe in it that's when it all starts to fall apart. We've got an important win but there's definitely a lot of room for improvement.

“It’s difficult, I know they [Switzerland] drew [vs Slovenia] but they've got a couple of players back that they were missing last time. We want to be competing against these teams away from home, playing the same way. We're going to stick at it, it's not going to be perfect for a while but on Monday night we're no different.”