EXCLUSIVE: JOHN MCGINN THOUGHT HE WAS ‘DONE’ AT ASTON VILLA BEFORE REVIVAL UNDER ‘BRILLIANT’ UNAI EMERY
John McGinn admits he thought he was “done” at Aston Villa and had even started looking for other clubs before becoming a mainstay of Unai Emery’s high-flying team.
McGinn was out of form and then out of the starting XI as Villa struggled under previous manager Steven Gerrard at the start of the 2022/23 season.
Emery’s arrival not only transformed Villa, but also lifted McGinn to new heights.
The Scotland international has been hugely influential under Emery as Villa – who host Newcastle on Tuesday night, live on TNT Sports – have battled at the top of the Premier League table this season.
Looking back on when Emery first joined in October 2022, McGinn told TNT Sports that he wasn’t sure about his future at the club.
“I thought I was done,” he said. “You kind of have a feel as a player, at the time the supporters thought I was honking, I had just come out of the team and the team was doing well for a couple of games.
“You’re not stupid as a footballer, you think ‘right, you might start having to look elsewhere’, which I did.
“I spoke to the manager and he had every stat, every detail of appearances I played for St Mirren, Hibs, and then he asked ‘what is your preferred position’, and I said ‘just not on the bench like the last few games’. And he looked and I thought what he is going to say, then he started circling positions and I said ‘yeah I’d play there, I’d play there’.
