John McGinn has lifted the lid on his failed Celtic move.

The Aston Villa midfielder went into great detail on the interest from his boyhood club whilst he was enjoying superb form for Hibs in the Scottish Premiership.

It's no secret McGinn's first choice was to move from Easter Road to Parkhead and live his dream as a Hoops player, but the transfer never came to fruition despite his and Hibs' desire and willingness to get a deal done.

McGinn, speaking with Graham Hunter on his Big Interview podcast, explained how during a trip in European football with the Hibees to the Faroe Islands he was asked not to play at risk of being cup-tied when he eventually does make his move to Celts for their upcoming qualifiers.

He revealed he was told the then-champions would be lodging an offer on that day - only to end up waiting and waiting before deciding to play for Hibs that evening. McGinn remains proud of his decision. "My agent actually said about Villa coming in 12 months before I went there, but in my head I'm thinking, 'Celtic might come in'," he revealed.

"When that first offer comes in you start thinking it's done. It's going to happen. So it was just a waiting game. The longest waiting game ever it ended up being. I've ended up back for pre-season and it was, ironically, Neil Lennon who was Hibs manager at the time. Hibs were amazing, it's not a popular decision if you go from Hibs to Celtic but I think everyone, the supporters, the board, we all had an understanding that it was what I wanted and I respect that I wouldn't kick the door down. I wouldn't want to ruin what I'd built at Hibs.

"I thought it had to work both ways, and initially it wasn't happening like that. We ended up getting a wee bit more guarantees that things were going to progress.

"I remember driving to a European qualifier in the Faroe Islands with Hibs. I'd been told Celtic are going to make an offer today and not to play in the game. That I'd be cup-tied for the European games coming up for Celtic. So I'm waiting all day, nothing happens. I'm going round these winding roads in the Faroe Islands not knowing if I'm actually playing in the game or not.

"To be fair to Leeann (Dempster) and everyone at Hibs they were waiting as well. They didn't know what was going on. So I'm out checking the pitch - I don't know why because it was astro turf - but Neil Lennon came out, we were speaking and he was so good at that. One of the best man managers I've had, so relatable, knew what I was going through and what I wanted at the time.

"The offer didn't come, for whatever reason. So I remember speaking to the manager, then I phoned my dad and agent and I just thought, 'You know what? I'm playing in the game.' Nothing's happened. I played, scored that night and it was a good performance in a bit of a wild game. I was proud of myself because I thought, 'This isn't right, I need to play in this game'.

"I believed in myself as a player. If someone wants me they can try a wee bit harder to get me. Then doubt got into my head and I'm thinking is this the right thing. Then it started becoming a wee bit of a sitcom. It was getting more and more publicity. Offers eventually came in and then you start thinking you're from the West of Scotland you switch on SuperScoreboard every now and again and you've got Jimmy from Bargeddie phoning in saying, 'Oh he's no gonna get a game' and that was quite a popular opinion at the time. Then you start to worry am I making a decision with my heart here? Am I going to go sit on the bench?"

McGinn revealed doubt did indeed creep into his psyche, but not for long. "At that time Celtic had an unbelievable midfield who had gelled together," he added. "Stuart Armstrong was still there, (Ryan) Christie, Scott Brown, (Olivier) Ntcham, all playing at the top of their game. There was no doubt I had the belief that I'd go there and play but then I had to weigh up everything. I still, in my head, wanted to play for Celtic, no doubt. But then eventually time went on and it was August - I don't know how it managed to get to August - but I started to become quite good at just playing and it probably spurred me on to play better.

"That spell was probably some of the best football I've played in my career. We managed to win in Greece in Europe, had a good start to the season. I ended up just being content playing football and block out the noise. There wasn't really a resolution. Then Villa got a takeover and I knew there was a wee bit of interest. Next thing you know I'm walking around the Edinburgh Festival and my agent phones asking if I'd like to have a look around at Villa. I'm like, 'Aye I'll have a look', didn't end up coming back."

McGinn had allowed his dream of playing for Celtic escape his mind and was delighted when Steve Bruce came in for him as Villa. And he revealed the key detail the then-English Championship outfit added to their pursuit of him that sealed the deal.

"We went to the training ground and the stadium and I felt the way I was treated was perfect," he explained. "That was a hard moment because I remember speaking to my mum and dad and we'd resigned ourselves to defeat with Celtic. Mum and dad grew up etched in Celtic, I wanted to play for Celtic, but it just wasn't right. Maybe in the future you never know but that is something I can't affect now, it's passed.

"There was a bit of me I had a bit to prove to a number of people. English football didn't have a clue who I was which I quite liked, I thought 'fresh start'. People up the road who thought I couldn't play for Celtic. You're lying if you say you don't think, 'I'll show you'. But I'm proud of the way I dealt with it because it would've been easy to do the wrong thing. There was something surreal the night I went to Villa Park. They were quite clever, they left the floodlights on, knew I loved number seven so that shirt was there, walked me into box seven. Everything about it was class. My dad knew I'd made my mind up.

"Now, it wasn't even the case I had to choose, there was never a stage it was an A or B, the A was just there. From there I got flung straight into the game against Wigan. It was just mad."