John McGinn has honoured his former Hibernian teammates, Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon, ahead of their final home match tonight - asserting that they are vastly "undervalued and unacknowledged”.
The Scotland favourite also reckons the duo's absence won't be fully felt until they have departed Easter Road for good.
McGinn shared the pitch with both players when Hibs broke their 114-year drought to claim victory in the Scottish Cup against Rangers in 2016.
Following McGinn's departure to Aston Villa two years later, Hanlon and Stevenson remained loyal to the club's colours, contributing significantly to Hibs' resurgence in the top-flight and their European endeavours.
Stevenson holds the distinction of being the sole Hibs player to have hoisted both the Scottish and League Cups and is poised to mark his 600th appearance when they host Motherwell this evening.
Hibs sacked head coach, Nick Montgomery, on Tuesday and have since added former Ross County boss, Malky MacKay, to their ranks as their new sporting director.
That appointment hasn't been greeted well by supporters and it's just the latest divisive decision made by the Hibs board after Stevenson and Hanlon's contracts were allowed to run down without any offer of a renewal.
McGinn, who secured Champions League football with Aston Villa this week following Tottenham's defeat against Manchester City, took some time away from his celebrations to comment on the current predicament at his old club and paid tribute to the experienced defenders.
Writing on Instagram, the ex-Hibees midfielder said: "Underrated, underappreciated but most importantly 2 of the best teammates you could ever dream of having. You don't realise what you have until it's gone!"
