‘I felt I was done but the boss ignored the noise’
JOHN McGinn won’t ever forget the conversation with Unai Emery that opened the door for him to the Champions League.
Why would he? It’s highly unlikely he would have made it had that brief exchange never taken place.
It was late November, almost two years ago, and Emery was preparing for his first match, at Villa Park against Manchester United.
He pulled McGinn in the team hotel the night before. Villa’s skipper takes up the story.
“At the time, I had just lost my place in the team,” said McGinn.
“The manager told me that he was advised that he would have to change the captain and move me on.
“He said, ‘I’ve been told this about you but I’ll make my own judgement. If my own judgement is that I don’t see you being involved here then I’l make it clear and I’ll let you know’.
“He told me that my last ten games hadn’t been good. But he said he’d watched the ten before that and they were. He asked, ‘Can you tell me why that is?’.
“I was thinking, ‘Why has he watched 20 games of mine?’.
Grateful
“I thought my time was up. A few games later, we played Brentford and won convincingly. I remember thinking, ‘I’m not going to be part of this’. I thought I was finished. But he saw something I didn’t see myself. From there, he worked with me tirelessly. I never looked back.
“I’ll be grateful for him ignoring that external noise and internal noise to make his own judgement.
“Looking back now, the week before Villa play in the Champions League, I think I’ve proved him right and others wrong.
“But those others aren’t at the club anymore, so that’s good.”
It’s not only a dream for McGinn. It’s one for at least one generation of Villa fans — maybe more — who have never seen the club dine at European football’s top table.
He can hardly believe the positive rate of change at
Villa Park. And he’s not alone, although last year’s Europa Conference League campaign did expose the club to competition on the continent again.
And he said that while Villa will be an unknown quality, they will be respected.
“In Europe, I know we had our good moments but we did fail in the end. When you go away with your national teams we have got a lot of players who represent the best countries in Europe.
“So, teams on the continent know the best players, they’re aware of the
NEW LEASE OF LIFE: Villa skipper John McGinn; (above) boss Unai Emery good the manager is. They’re aware of how good we are and how much we could achieve.
“The club is becoming more attractive to the best players. Like Ian Maatsen, he was in the Champions League final last season. He decided this is club that could potentially do the same.
Known
‘We’re attracting players from international teams that are wellknown around Europe. If we are not already recognised, we’re trying to develop that reputation.
“For us, being a Pot Four team, technically, we’re going in as the underdogs but I’m sure we’ll go into games evenly-matched and we’ll give any of them a run for their money.”
When will it sink in as to the adventure he’s about to embark upon?
He said: “Everyone talks about wanting to hear the anthem — and I’m no different — but I’m more excited to be playing with the bibs and the balls.
“I’ve watched the Celtic lads wear them for years.”
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