Scotland warned they must not rely on talisman as 'big impact' player told he can light up the World Cup

McGinn, 31, has had a season to remember with club side Aston Villa. He captained them to a 3-0 win over Freiburg in the Europa League final last week. They also secured a fourth-place finish in the English Premier League with a 2-1 away win at Manchester City on Sunday.

Following these successes, the talismanic former Hibs midfielder will now set his sights on the World Cup after being named in Steve Clarke’s 26-man squad last week. However, former Scotland international Paul Lambert has cautioned supporters that the national team can’t just rely on McGinn at the tournament.

“From experience of the World Cup, you’ve got to have most of your teammates on their game or else you’re not going to get results,” reflected former Celtic midfielder Lambet. “John, along with a number of lads, are going to have to perform to the highest level to get us through the group. I don’t think it’s just John McGinn that’s the key. There’s going to have to be a nucleus of players for every game.

“I think you need about eight or nine players to hit their maximum to get a result. If we can do that then it’s going to be great. No doubt he’s [McGinn] going to be a big player for Scotland. But I’ve been there and I know what it’s like, you don’t just want to turn up. I think that’s important for us as a nation. I think everybody has to turn up for the tournament.”

Lambert, who won 40 caps during his time as a player, representing Scotland at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where he appeared in all three of the team's group-stage matches against Brazil, Norway, and Morocco, also shared his thoughts on which striker should be handed the lone striker role in Clarke’s team when they get their tournament underway against Haiti on June 13.

The Scotland boss named Lyndon Dykes, Che Adams, Lawrence Shankland and Ross Stewart in his squad for the tournament, but Lambert admits the position remains an issue for the national team, with none of the four hitmen yet to fully claim the position as their own heading into the World Cup in North America.

“That’s the big question for us,” Lambert told Betway. “They’ve tried numerous ones. Dykes to be fair has always done pretty well for us every time he’s started. He might not be the most prolific goal scorer, but he works ever so hard and that’s what we’re going to need. We’re going to need people that can move around the pitch and cause trouble. As I said, he [Dykes] might not be the prolific goal scorer that everybody’s looking for, but I’m not sure we’ve got one at a national level. That’s no slant on the guys themselves, it’s just the way it is.

“We have Dykes, Shankland, Adams as well. But I don’t really know who Steve Clarke is going to play. I think Ben Gannon-Doak is going to be a big player if he’s fit. He can make things happen. But it’s a tough question. I like Lyndon Dykes because of his work ethic. He might not score as much, but he can bring people into the game.”

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