John McGinn: Aston Villa have seven cup finals
John McGinn claims every match is now a cup final for Villa as they chase European football.
Unai Emery’s team go to Brentford on Saturday aiming for a sixth straight win to maintain their place in the Premier League’s top six.
Villa are just six points behind fourth-placed Newcastle after beating the Magpies 3-0 last weekend but skipper McGinn believes talk of contending for a Champions League spot is a little premature, with six of the remaining seven fixtures against teams also in the European hunt.
He said: "We need to be realistic. We've got a tough run, coming up against most of the top teams in the league now. Every one is a cup final now.”
McGinn is Villa’s longest-serving outfield player, having joined the club in 2018 when they were still in the Championship.
He claims the current run under Emery is a new high-point for his career.
McGinn said: "It's been a mental journey. When I joined the ownership had just taken over and this is probably what they had envisaged a year or two ago.
It doesn't work like that. It's a really tough league but you can see the potential this club has got. It's special to be here, but we need to deliver.”
