Niall McGinn enjoyed one of the best summers of his career alongside Stephen Robinson but any partnership goes out of the window this weekend.
The pair were part of the Northern Ireland set-up that reached the second round of the European championship finals in France two years ago.
Aberdeen forward McGinn speaks highly of Motherwell manager Robinson’s methods but hopes the Dons will be good enough to thwart them in Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against the Steelmen at Hampden.
McGinn was on target in a 2-0 win against Ukraine as Michael O’Neill’s men made it out of the group stages but their adventure came to an end against Wales in the last 16 thanks to a Gareth McAuley own goal.
Robinson was part of O’Neill’s backroom team at Euro 2016, prior to taking a managerial role at English side Oldham and then returning to Fir Park last year.
Robinson is in his second spell at Fir Park, having joined the club in February 2015 as Ian Baraclough’s assistant before moving to Oldham the following year.
McGinn said: “I know Robbo very well – he was part of the Northern Ireland set-up under Michael O’Neill.
“I remember the play-off between Rangers and Motherwell when Motherwell got through. I was speaking to him about it and the week building up to it he did nothing but shape.
“He’s very good at getting his team playing the way he wants.
“He’s a manager who takes into consideration how he wants to play as a team but how his team can work against the opposition. The 2-0 game here, they came up and played a diamond and did very well.
“He’s a nice calm guy and easy to get on with. Training was always very enjoyable – he leaves no stone unturned and tries to keep his players happy. Working under Michael, they’re two great guys and it showed how well we did in our performances. He wasn’t someone who kept himself to himself – he had a laugh at the right times but made sure training was at the right intensity.
“Motherwell work very hard and have a lot of physical players. They’re tough opposition and showed it in the games against Celtic and Rangers. We’re up against a very solid side which has experience of getting to a cup final this season. It figures to be a good game.”
Finishing a second successive season with a Scottish Cup final would not have been given too much thought by McGinn, given that he left Pittodrie for South Korean outfit Gwangju FC after the 2-1 loss to Celtic last May.
He returned to the Dons in December after cutting short his Far East experience, admitting he would have been frustrated had things worked out differently and he had missed out on competing in another cup final. McGinn said: “I’d definitely be disappointed (if I missed it) because I’d love to be there. I’m back again and have an opportunity to get in another final, so I’m over the moon. Korea didn’t work out football-wise but, as an experience, I enjoyed being in another part of the world. I love being back and things have been going well. I’ll never think I’m better than this or that – it’s an experience that came up. But I would have been disappointed to miss it and now that I’m part of it I’m excited more than anything.
“It’s one competition I’ve looked forward to since coming back. The boys have done well against good Championship opposition in St Mirren and Dundee United, then getting through the Kilmarnock tie we knew was going to be tough. We’ve got another difficult game on Saturday but it’s a good opportunity to reach a final and we know on our day if we show up and perform we’re capable of getting there.”