John McGinn will forever be a hero to Hibs and their fans.
Being part of a trophy win for any side outside of Glasgow will do that for you. But when it’s the first time in 114 years, that helps even further.
Earning the Easter Road club £3.5million and going on to become a Scotland hero and a Champions League and Premier League star with Aston Villa has elevated him even further.
The Hibees right now are a far cry from the side that had McGinn, Dylan McGeough and Scott Allan in the midfield and further quality throughout.
McGinn slaughters Hibs recruitment
Hibs have slid a fair bit since McGinn and co got them back up from the Premiership and managed a third placed finish, now sitting bottom of the league.
And the Scotland hero is absolutely baffled by the recruitment they have done in that period.
Not least because of the way his brother Paul was forced out of the club along with the likes of Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon.
And McGinn says they haven’t been replaced by better players.
Speaking on Premier Sports Scottish Football Social Club: “Aye, well no club is above getting relegated. We’ve seen it before, Hearts and Hibs have both suffered pretty recently.
“I think what they have got away from is they got relegated, got their identity back. It wasn’t plain sailing either. Got some young, hungry Scottish players. People that knew the division, people that had a point to prove.
“But instead of that…I have no idea who is in charge of the recruitment. But speaking from personal experience watching my brother get hounded out, which was tough to watch because he didn’t deserve it.
“But if that’s going to be the case at a club like Hibs you think ‘alright, they must be signing somebody better’.
“But it’s just signing after signing. And I’m not just speaking about Paul, I’m speaking about others.
“They’ve hounded Lewis (Stevenson) and Paul (Hanlon) for a while but you need to have ready-made replacements. People that know the division, that can get results.
“And not just constant projects. And that’s what it seems to be, just constant projects and just big risks and gambles. And they don’t seem to be working year after year.”
Stewart has say on Hibs
Pundit and former Hibees midfielder Michael Stewart is another who hasn’t been shy in voicing his opinion on the club.
Just yesterday he told how Stewart fears for Hibs in a relegation scrap as he casted doubt on manager David Gray’s decision making.
And expanding on McGinn’s talk about recruitment, he added: “Rocky Bushiri sums it up for me. This is a guy the club tweeted out saying ‘thanks for your services, he’s leaving the club’.
“And then two or three days later he signs a three-year contract. The incompetence is on stilts at Hibs.”