Niall McGinn opens up on whirlwind move to boyhood club Celtic that gave him ‘shivers’

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Former Celtic man Niall McGinn is back on the Scottish football landscape after joining Morton on loan from Glentoran.

The 37-year-old started off his senior career at Derry City before moving to Celtic, where he went on to register six goals and four assists in 36 appearances.

Following a loan spell at Brentford, McGinn joined Aberdeen and went on to experience some brilliant success in the North East, scoring 87 times and registering 81 assists in 356 outings.

Capped 67 times by Northern Ireland, the Donaghmore-born winger is now in the twilight of a career that has yielded three trophies, one of which was the Scottish Cup with Celtic in 2011.

Making the journey from the League of Ireland to Paradise in 2009, McGinn has opened up on how his move was an unexpected twist of fate during the early stages of his life as a senior professional.

Niall McGinn’s reflection on head-spinning Celtic move

Speaking to BBC Scotland, McGinn has admitted he had ‘shivers’ after his agent told him Celtic had been on the phone amid initial interest from Swansea City in taking him over to Wales, in an unanticipated twist.

He explained: “My agent told me Neil Lennon had been on the phone, straight away I had shivers.

“Paddy McCourt had moved from Derry the year before, so he was a big help. I settled in really well. Tony Mowbray came in and he was brilliant for me. I ended up playing a lot of football under him.

“In the space of 18 months, I went from part-time football to making my international debut and my Celtic debut in front of 60,000 fans.”

Listening to McGinn’s reflections, it is hard to imagine the transition from life in Derry compared to Glasgow would’ve been easy. However, he didn’t do too badly while at Celtic, and it was unfortunate that he wasn’t able to establish himself in the squad for a longer period.

Ultimately, he needed to go and play football, and a switch to Aberdeen brought out his true talent, with the Northern Ireland man becoming indispensable under Derek McInnes.

Still going strong at 37; hopefully, McGinn can continue to play on for as long as possible, setting an example to youngsters looking to make their way in the game due to his longevity.