The 23-year-old Scot is the toast of Villa supporters after his superb debut in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Wigan.

McGinn arrived in a £2.75million switch from Hibernian last week, having already established a reputation as one of Scottish football’s most exciting young talents.

And he wasted no time showing his new club what he can do with an all-action display, which included setting up Villa’s first two goals.

Football was an obvious career choice for McGinn. Both of his older brothers, John and Stephen, play professionally, while grandad Jack was once chairman of Celtic and Scottish FA president.

But while the plaudits might now be heading his way, McGinn revealed the route has not always been smooth.

“There was a time in St Mirren under-19s when I struggled to get a game. That’s the honest truth,” he said.

“For the first year I was basically the waterboy, sitting on the ice box at the edge of the park, thinking: ‘Where am I going here?’

“I think when you go through times like that, it makes you hungry to succeed, you want to go on the park and prove to everyone you are better than what is there. It’s something which has stayed with me.

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“If the path to professional is too easy for people, I think they lose that hunger, they lose the drive to improve and get better. I think it is something which is always going to be with me.”

McGinn remembers travelling with his dad watch John, six years his senior, play in the Championship for Watford.

At the time, he was still in the middle of a 13-year stay in St Mirren’s Academy.

“It’s very different to what John and Stephen had experienced, going into professional football at 18,” he said.

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“I think the only one who felt pressure was my dad. He was thinking ‘oh no, I’m making him into a robot!’.

“But St Mirren were good, they are a different club, very good at developing players and they give you time.

“When I was younger I needed that. I think the path I went on was the right one, though don’t get me wrong, there have been ups and downs.

“Once you get the chance, you have to grab it. I remember the older pros at the time when I was flung in for my debut, saying: ‘This is your journey now, do all you can to keep the shirt’.

“It is something which has stuck by me and thankfully it has worked so far. I know the stature of this club is much bigger but it is the same aim.”

Joining Hibs from St Mirren in 2015, it didn’t take long for McGinn to catch the eye of scouts south of the border.

Moves to the Championship were mooted in previous summers before Villa swooped last week.

“Ipswich tried at one point, Nottingham Forest too,” explained McGinn. “Even at the start of this summer there were three or four but they weren’t right, they weren’t the right fit for me. I was prepared to wait.

“When a club like Aston Villa comes up it is a no-brainer and one worth waiting for.”

The challenge at Villa is similar to the one he first faced at Hibernian three years ago, a club used to playing in the top tier attempting to plot its way out of the second.

McGinn explained: “It was an exciting challenge and something we eventually managed to do.

“Hopefully this year we can do it. It is a competitive squad, one which is going to be challenging to get into. But it is something I am looking forward to.”

He continued: “I think you can enter a comfort zone. You have already developed a reputation somewhere,” he said.

“When you are ambitious, like I am, it is important to go and prove somewhere else that you can play. It’s something which excited me and is a big reason why I chose to come to Villa.”