Brentford loan star Niall McGinn says he is out to reach the top and staying at Griffin Park is only going to help his cause.

The 24-year-old, who has been selected in Nigel Worthington’s Northern Ireland Euro qualifier squad to face the Faroe Islands, switched to west London from Celtic on a season-long loan in the summer.

The former Derry City man traded the Old Firm derby for trips to Carlisle, Bury and Rochdale in a bid to make his name south of the border.

And McGinn, who is staying in a Heathrow hotel while he settles, believes a spell in League One is his first step towards the Premier League.

“When I was first picked for Ireland I was playing for Derry City,” he said.

“The move to Celtic was massive for me, but it hasn’t quite worked out yet.

“When the move to Brentford came up Nigel Worthington was very excited about it.

“He sees it as a way of getting my career back on track and getting me back to the man of the match performances I was putting in when I first started with him.

“I’ve always wanted to play in the Premiership and moving to London puts me in a big shop window.

“If I can do well, you don’t know what might happen.”

McGinn has hit the ground running by impressing – particularly new boss Uwe Rosler – in Brentford’s unbeaten pre-season campaign that ended with Saturday’s 2-1 win at Aldershot Town.

The weekend goals came from Gary Alexander and Charlie MacDonald and took the Bees’ summer tally to 19 ahead of the League One kick-off against Yeovil Town.

McGinn insists it is not only the front two who have the responsibility of finding the net and he is out to prove himself as a goal scorer.

“It is nice to score you first goal for the club even if it was in a friendly,” he added.

“I’ve felt good in the games I’ve played so far and I would like to score more goals.

“Hopefully, I can create chances for the strikers, but it isn’t all about them.”

Rosler has been pleased with the way all his signings have settled and McGinn, who was on hand to sign autographs at the club’s open day on Sunday, is just keen to get the campaign under way.

“It has been nice to be part of the squad. The way I have been treated so far feels like I’m some sort of big name player, but I’m not,” he said.

“I just can’t wait for the season to get started. We drew a lot of games last year. If we can turn those in to wins, we should have a good season.”