Aston Villa captain John McGinn demands more than seventh

The skipper felt the celebrations which followed Villa’s best finish since 2010 were justified on this occasion as “everyone in the country” would have laughed at the idea of them securing a return to European football, when they spent the opening months of the season in or around the relegation zone.

Unai Emery’s appointment as head coach sparked the stunning turnaround, with Sunday’s final day win over Brighton securing a place in next season’s Europa Conference League play-off round.

McGinn told BBC 5Live: “The feeling was a bit of relief. This club should not really be celebrating seventh. This club belongs higher than that.

“But the turnaround this season has been extraordinary. If you had asked in October or November whether we could qualify for the Conference League I think every single person in the country would have laughed at us. So we are celebrating this achievement. We are really looking forward to playing European football.”

McGinn, who struggled for form during the opening months of the season under Steven Gerrard, is one of several players to have credit Emery with helping their game reach new levels.

The head coach’s attention to detail includes lengthy tactical briefings at Bodymoor Heath but McGinn said: “There is a lot of time in the classroom but when you are getting results and feel yourself improving as a player, why complain?

“He (Emery) is different class. He is detailed, passionate and just loves football. He has come in and made a lot of us better and we got the job done in the end.”

Villa’s win over Brighton was their 15th in 25 Premier League matches under Emery though the Seagulls, who had already secured their own place in next season’s Europa League, did not make things easy for the hosts in front of a sold-out and noisy crowd.

Deniz Undav’s goal seven minutes before half-time, after Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins had fired Villa into an early 2-0 lead, set up an occasionally nervy second half in which the home side could not find the goal to definitely kill the contest. McGinn, the club’s longest-serving outfield player after joining in 2018 when they were still in the Championship, said: “It was a phenomenal atmosphere. Maybe a little bit of nervousness at the start of the second half.

“Everyone knows what a good team Brighton are. We had to stay strong. We had to be on our toes and stay disciplined. That last 10 minutes was thoroughly enjoyable, actually. I don’t know if it was so enjoyable in the stands.

“But they (the fans) deserve it. There have been a lot of tough games. When I joined they had recently been saved from possibly going out of business. This club deserves European football and it has been great to have been a part of a rollercoaster journey.”