Motherwell man Paul McGinn was in good form when speaking to the media ahead of his side’s clash against Celtic.
The Scotland international, the older brother of Aston Villa star John McGinn, is likely to face the unenviable task of stopping Daizen Maeda this weekend.
The Hoops attacker has been receiving plaudits for his work-rate in last weekend’s win against Livingston, with his boundless energy becoming a big talking point in Scottish football circles.
That reached Motherwell‘s pre-match media conference on Thursday as McGinn was asked what kind of task he could face against the Japan star’s “speed and fitness”.
“You just hope he tires after about ten, fifteen…” McGinn said before the journalists in attendance started to laugh. (Motherwell YouTube, 3:00)
“It’s just constant,” he continued. “You just need to be on the ball all the time and hope you get him on an off day. But you just know he’s going to work hard and we need to match it going the other way.
“We need to hope it’s him running back the way rather than towards our goal.”
The bad news for Motherwell is that Maeda knows what it takes to net at Fir Park. Two of his 20 goals for Celtic have come in front of the Hoops support in Lanarkshire. The only ground he’s netted more goals at is Celtic Park. (Celtic Fitba Stats)
Maeda will be high in confidence after last weekend’s strike against Livingston — his first of the season. He is likely to feature in Brendan Rodgers’ starting line-up but could avoid McGinn if he is fielded on the right.
With Luis Palma looking for game time, that is a possibility. The Motherwell defender may well be hoping that’s the case.
In other news, Celtic announce great Mitchel Frame news after Premier League interest
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