Paul McGinn: First Hibs interview as defender speaks on reunion with Jack Ross

Paul McGinn is happy to be working under Jack Ross again - but hopes the head coach will stick around for longer than he did at St Mirren

Paul McGinn hopes Hibs boss Jack Ross will hang around a little longer than the last time he signed for him.

As manager of St Mirren, Ross had done a pre-contract deal to bring McGinn back to Paisley but with his then club Partick Thistle battling against relegation it was kept under wraps.

By the time McGinn’s arrival was announced, Ross had gone, head-hunted by Sunderland having steered the Buddies to the Championship title.

Now, having clinched an 18-month contract at Easter Road, McGinn, brother of Hibs' Scottish Cup winning hero John, is looking forward to reacquainting himself with a coach he first came across when he was assistant to Ian Murray at Dumbarton.

Recalling Ross’s first interest in him, the 29-year-old, said: “He had signed me in the February but we agreed not to announce it until the summer because Thistle were fighting as well.

“They didn’t want to announce anything and then the moment I made a bad pass the fans started to think I wasn’t trying or anything like that. So we just kept it quiet.

“And then when they did release it they maybe did it to appease the fans for Jack leaving. I don’t think it worked. They were more worried about losing him because of the job he did.

“So I kind of snuck in the back door, a bit underwhelming. That happens when you move between Scottish teams. St Mirren was a club on the up and with the manager going it can just unsettle the ship.

“It was a wee bit like that, it was a shame. I knew how good he could be and my brother said he was brilliant, the players loved him. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re winning the league all the players love the manager.

“But yeah, I was looking forward to it, it was a shame. But I managed to prove myself at St Mirren. I got player of the year and I think I more than made up for it.

“I hope he lasts a bit longer here. Maybe he’ll move, but I would like to think he’ll be here for the foreseeable future at least.”

Ross has enjoyed a burgeoning reputation as a young manager, untarnished by his sacking at Sunderland earlier in the season and, revealed McGinn, his talents as a man-manager are there for all to see.

Having completed his first training session with his new team-mates he said: “You come in and talk to the players and they all say he is very good. It was different when he was an assistant at Dumbarton, it’s always the manager who gets it.

"But from speaking to players all round Britain they say the same things, they always speak highly of him, which is testament to him. He just seems to be good at getting the best out of his players, he’s not long finished (as a player) and that helps, he knows what players like and don’t like.

“You can’t keep everyone happy and I’m sure there will be days when I am cursing him and he’ll be cursing me. It’s just the way it goes. But if you can keep the majority onside and the fans as well you’re doing well.”

And Ross revealed how he was determined to push through McGinn’s arrival now rather than wait until the summer, a move which has cost Hibs a five-figure sum.

The Hibs head coach said: “When Paul was a young player at Dumbarton he was terrific for Ian and I.

“He was really, really good in the Championship and he is one of those players, like a lot of players in Scotland, who are consistently good in the Premiership and sometimes go under the radar and maybe aren’t appreciated as they should be.

“I think he falls into that bracket. His consistency level now, and for the past couple of years is terrific, he is a player I have always liked.”