Northern Ireland v Korea Republic

NIALL McGINN

travelled to Pittodrie to see McGinn score in a 3-0 win over Hamilton. “I don't know his full Korean name, but he was Tim to me,” smiled McGinn. “He was a massive help and really looked after me. He was really a close friend to me. “He translated everything, from football, ordering food, dealing with bills and so on. If he hadn't been there, I'd have been a bit lost, so it was brilliant to have him as a mate.  “Tim was in Portugal recently and made the journey to Scotland to see me. He wanted to see me play and it was nice because he saw me score against Hamilton. It worked out perfectly.” When reflecting on his short stay in Korea, McGinn says he has no regrets on heading east. He insisted: “I don't regret it and all in all it was a great experience. When the opportunity came up last summer I was excited and thought 'why not?' “The football side of things didn't really work out and I was kind of playing catch-up from the start. I joined midway through their season, plus the team was bottom of the league and struggling. “But it was an exciting challenge and experiencing the facilities and playing in stadia that had been built for the 2002 World Cup was unbelievable.” Now that he’s back in Scotland, McGinn hopes to stay on the radar of Edinburgh-based Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill who recently signed a contract extension with the Irish FA. The former Celtic forward, who won the first of his 53 caps almost a decade ago, said: “If you're performing well for your club week in, week out it can only enhance your international chances. “Hopefully with me being back at Aberdeen, playing regular football and scoring a couple of goals, it can only help because competition for places in this Northern Ireland squad is stiff.” McGinn has had no problems reacquainting himself with Scottish football or Aberdeen where he spent five years before opting to leave for his short stay in the K-League. He also believes Pittodrie boss Derek McInnes can get the best out of him as he bids to stay in O'Neill's plans for the UEFA Nations League and Euro 2020 qualifying campaigns. He said: “I'm delighted to be back at Aberdeen. I know the city well and Scottish football well and I'm also with a manager I enjoy working under. “He's probably been the manager who has got the best out of me. He knows me as a player and it has been a period of my career I've enjoyed the most. “It was a no-brainer to come back and I couldn't have hoped for things to have gone so well since rejoining Aberdeen.”

Position Right Wing Date Of Birth 20.07.1987 Place Of Birth Dungannon

RIGHT WING

Height 183cm Weight 75kg

CLUB RECORD

17

SQUAD NO

CLUBS Dungannon Swifts

42 31 28 37

Derry City

Celtic

Brentford (loan)

Aberdeen Gwangju Aberdeen

179

7 7

Caps 53 Goals 3 INTERNATIONAL RECORD 7 SQUAD NO Debut 19.11.08 v Hungary (H) Lost 0-2

Northern Ireland U16 Northern Ireland U17 Northern Ireland U19 Northern Ireland U21 rt r Ir l 23 rt r Ir l B rt r Ir l

9 9 2 1 7 14 53

21

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