MY 1ST CELTIC ASSIST

Scotland ace McGinn could see the headlines after his wayward ball set up Celts' opener in Villa Park clash

- BY FRASER WILSON

A FIRST taste of Champions League football this season has been the thing of dreams for John McGinn.

Apart from the bit where he got his 'first Celtic assist'.

The Scotland and Aston Villa hero admits he could already see the headlines as he sat in the Villa Park dressing room at half-time in the Battle of Britain blockbuster against his boyhood heroes.

How he climbed off the bench to turn the game by inadvertently diverting Greg Taylor's cross into the path of Adam Idah for Celtic's first goal.

How, within eight minutes of his entrance, Villa had thrown away a two-goal lead.

And how half his Hoops-daft family were secretly loving it in the stands above him as he went through the wringer down in the bowels of the stadium.

In the end it all worked out perfectly as Unai Emery's men romped to a 4-2 win to seal a top-eight spot and qualification for the last 16.

Villa have now blazed into the quarter-finals where they will face PSG as punters dare to dream of a repeat of their finest moment in 1982.

Skipper McGinn has scored two goals in eight appearances so far in European football's premier competition.

Now he hopes to take his performances from the top bracket of club football onto the international stage and help Scotland save their status as a top-level team in the Nations League by dumping Greece.

Back north of the border and speaking about that Celtic clash seven weeks ago for the first time, McGinn said: "I was gutted not to start after working so hard to get back fit.