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PETER HOUSTON has confessed he has selfish reasons for hoping Gordon Strachan sees John McGinn as central to his Scotland plans for Sunday’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Slovenia.
McGinn’s call-up currently means he is ruled out of Hibs’ plans for the visit of Houston’s Falkirk on Saturday.
But Easter Road boss Neil Lennon has not given up hope of having his star midfielder available for a match that could go a long way to deciding whether Hibs can go on to clinch the Championship title.
Lennon has indicated he plans to speak with Strachan after Wednesday night’s friendly with Canada to see if there is any chance of having McGinn released back to his club.
For his part, McGinn fully intends pressing his case for involvement against Slovenia and has insisted that Scotland ‘is the most important thing’.
And, though fully understanding counterpart Lennon’s hopes, Houston is keen to see McGinn stay with his country.
He joked: “I think John should be a starter for Scotland!
“I’d be the exact same if he was my player. If he wasn’t going to play I would be asking the question as well.
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“So, I understand.
“But I hope he’s involved [with Scotland]. I think he should be involved, but I understand that managers want their strongest team on the pitch.
“I want my strongest team. If it was Luca Gasparotto or Fraser Aird playing for Canada then I’d be the exact same, I’d want them in my team.
“You want your big players for big games.”
Former Rangers duo Gasparotto and Aird are both included in the Canada squad to face Scotland and Houston is hopeful the pair return unscathed ahead of their return to Easter Road on Saturday.
He added: “I hope they come through the game against Scotland, that’s a big thing for us.”
