John McGinn says Celtic lacked patience with future Scotland captain Andy Robertson

John McGinn believes Celtic failed to give Andy Robertson enough time to develop before releasing the future Scotland captain as a teenager.

Robertson was just 15 when his time in Celtic’s academy came to an end, with concerns over his physical development contributing to a decision which would eventually come back to haunt the Hoops.

McGinn knew Robertson from playing against him at youth level and believes their respective experiences demonstrated the importance of patience with young players.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, McGinn said: “We both had challenging sort of spells. I was at a club that gave me time to grow; he was at a club that didn’t give him time to grow. He was at one of the biggest clubs, so they just thought he wasn’t good enough.

“He was smallish, really, really thin. But he’s still the same — still fit as a fiddle and still the same body shape. Then he went to Queen’s Park, and you played against him at Queen’s Park. You could never envision that sort of career.”

Robertson subsequently rebuilt his career with Queen’s Park, making his senior debut in 2012 before earning moves to Dundee United and Hull City.

Liverpool signed the left-back in 2017 and Robertson went on to make 378 appearances during a trophy-laden nine-year spell, winning eight major honours before joining Tottenham following the expiry of his contract this summer.

Robertson’s remarkable rise ultimately became a lesson for Celtic too.

Former academy chief Chris McCart previously revealed that the club became more conscious of giving youngsters additional development time rather than making definitive judgements while they were still going through significant physical growth.

McGinn admits even he could never have predicted the career Robertson would eventually enjoy.