THE South Korea adventure on which Niall McGinn embarked in the summer may have ended prematurely but the Northern Ireland international insists he’d do it all again.

The former Celtic and Brentford player does, however, admit he is a fortunate man to have been welcomed back to Aberdeen with open arms having left the club at the end of his contract only last June to head to Gwangju.

The South Korean side were relegated in November and, with a new manager at the helm, McGinn cancelled his contract and returned to Aberdeen, where manager Derek McInnes cut him a three-and-a-half year deal.

He still has to catch up on his fitness due to a lack of action and a hernia operation, but joining his Pittodrie team-mates for a Dubai training camp next week will help him on that score.

McGinn jumped at the chance of a return to Pittodrie where he enjoyed five rewarding years – scoring 68 goals in 223 games – and is keen to force his way back into McInnes’s first team.

“You miss the big games at Hampden, the excitement of the cup competitions,” said the 30-year-old. “In Korea you have big crowds but not like here. The atmosphere is nowhere near as intense as you get playing for Aberdeen against the likes of Celtic and Rangers.

“But, even though you miss that, all-in-all it was definitely an experience I enjoyed in South Korea. The culture difference was obviously new to me but I really had a good time so there was no moment when I thought I should be elsewhere.”

Despite enjoying his eastern adventure, it seems the pull of working again with McInnes – “probably my most influential manager” – was too great to ignore.

McGinn said: “The five years I had here were the best of my career. I played a lot of football and enjoyed it immensely. Working under the manager again played a part [in my return] and he’s been brilliant with me since day one.”

McInnes will lead his side into today’s home game against Hearts boosted by a bruising 1-0 win over Partick Thistle in midweek at Pittodrie. He has a healthy respect for Craig Levein’s men, who are now beginning to make their presence felt in the Premiership after the disastrous reign of Ian Cathro.

“You can see how Craig has put his stamp on Hearts now,” said McInnes. With the greatest of respect, they now have a manager in place who has a clear idea of what he wants. They are far more competitive now, they play quickly and they let you know they’re there.

“In the last eight games they have only lost two goals, which is fantastic for any team. There is an organisation and resilience about them now and that is down to the manager.”

The Hearts manager believes defender John Souttar will be ready to move to England next summer after hailing the defender as a complete player.

Speaking after the 21-year-old was linked with a January move to Derby County, Levein admits he has been thrilled with Souttar’s progression.

Levein said: “I think John Souttar is another window away from being ready to go anywhere, he needs a full season of this and then I think he might be ready. He’s our most valuable asset for sure.”