John McGinn claps back at World Cup manager who branded Scotland ‘unprofessional’

John McGinn has refuted claims Scotland boss Steve Clarke is ‘unprofessional’, insisting he must ‘look after number one’.

The Aston Villa captain’s reply came hours after Norway manager Stale Solbakken questioned Clarke’s professionalism following the Scots’ cancellation of a behind-closed-doors friendly against their European rivals.

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Clarke pulled the plug on the match amid fears of losing players to injury on the eve of the tournament, something which the likes of Germany, Argentina and the Netherlands have all succumbed to.

The Scots are not alone on that front, with star midfielder Billy Gilmour ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury sustained in a friendly against Curacao.

Knowing Scotland couldn’t afford to be without another key player for their first World Cup since 1998, McGinn was ready to back his manager’s decision.

McGinn: Scotland ‘didn’t want to lose another player’

“Our job is to look after Scotland,” McGinn said in a press conference.

“Norway’s job is to look after Norway.

“And if they’ve done their research, we lost a very important part of our squad very, very close to this camp.

“That had a huge impact on everyone.

“We didn’t want to lose another player. We’ve had a few niggles and not everyone has been training.

“So I think it’s a professional way of handling things, to be perfectly honest, to look after number one.

“And I’m sure every single country will be doing exactly the same thing.”

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Earlier, Solbakken expressed his frustration he did not receive so much as a phone call from Clarke regarding the game’s cancellation.

Bak in my day

“It was at least as surprising to me, and it is unprofessional of Scotland,” Solbakken said.

“It is unprofessional that the coach has not called me, that they use the team manager and call and say it after we have finished training.

“I don’t think the injuries they’re blaming came from the last training session. That’s not the case.

“It’s disappointing. It’s unprofessional. But we have to live with that.

“That’s why we adjusted a bit in the game against Morocco.

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“Scotland must have their morals, we must have our morals. But if it were me, I would have picked up the phone and explained.”

Scotland begin their World Cup journey on Sunday at 2am BST, where they take on Haiti, live on talkSPORT.

As for Norway, they face Iraq in their World Cup opener, with kick-off scheduled for 11pm on June 16.