DERBY day will have a little extra bite for basketball ace Josh McGinn this weekend.

The 19-year-old from Whitby has signed for BBL Championship side Mersey Tigers and he will line up against the club he supported as a boy, the Cheshire Jets, at the Northgate Arena in Chester on Sunday (5.30pm tip-off).

For former Ellesmere Port Catholic High pupil McGinn, who coaches at the Jets summer camp and who could have become a Jets player this season had the Tigers not approached him first, it means going into battle against friends he has known all his life.

They include seasoned Jets campaigner and fellow Ellesmere Port resident Phil Brandreth.

“It’s going to be interesting,” said McGinn. “I’ve been watching the Jets since I was six.

“I’m looking forward to this game more than most. I’ve got a couple of friends, like Phil, on the Jets team but for 40 minutes you’re not friends and you’ve got to do whatever you can to beat them. It’s going to be a good day.”

McGinn, an England youth international and Great Britain prospect, has returned from a year in the Italian professional league this summer.

He played at youth level and in the senior Division Three side for Cestistica Ascoli. On his return home, new Tigers coach Tony Walsh snapped up the Ellesmere Port teenager.

The Tigers began their BBL campaign with a heavy defeat at Surrey Heat. Still awaiting visa clearance for his imported stars, Walsh made McGinn captain of a team made up of local talent. The Tigers lost 106-45, prompting rival fans and some in the basketball media to write off their season.

But McGinn said: “We are all optimistic. It’s quite funny because a lot has been said about the Tigers, that are we going to struggle all season, but I’ve known all along there will be more players signed. I just soaked up what was said as it was quite amusing but we should have a full squad ready for the Jets game.”

But although the imminent arrival of the import players puts pressure on McGinn’s place in the side, he is taking it in his stride.

“I’m pretty confident I can still give what I gave in the first game,” he said.

Phil Brandreth made the starting five for Cheshire Jets on Saturday as they tipped-off their season with a brave 80-72 defeat to the much-fancied Leicester Riders.