Aston Villa captain, John McGinn has offered a peek behind the curtain over Unai Emery and his preparation that goes into games.
It has been a great 12 months for Aston Villa as they have risen from a lowly 17th to now sitting comfortably in 4th place.
The influence of the new manager, Unai Emery can not be overestimated. His hiring is directly linked to the upturn in form in the past year.
Under the previous regime, there was no identity and a confusing style of play which didn’t garner positive results.
By comparison, 12 months later, the Villans have a clear way of playing which is stuck to no matter what. With Emery’s 4-4-2 and slow build-up, fans get excited to watch their team and now have high expectations.
With that being said, the Spaniard is a quiet and somewhat elusive figure who just gets on with his job. Loved and adored by fans but it is safe to say they would like to hear more about their manager.
What has John McGinn said about Unai Emery?
Villa skipper, McGinn has seen it all at Villa Park, from Championship to European football. This story has also featured four managers and he has been a key man for each one of them.
McGinn was on good form once again against Tottenham Hotspur, as he has been all campaign. This has seen him become one of the most important Villa stars.
It is safe to say that he is one of the names that has gone from strength to strength under Emery. Being reinvigorated in a wider midfield role.
Following the Spurs win, speaking with the Express and Star, McGinn and has opened up about the impact of his manager.
In the days building up to the game at Tottenham Hotspur, the Spaniard was engrossed in the fixture. On that, McGinn said: “He was obsessed about winning on Sunday, absolutely obsessed. That mindset and mentality is put into our heads.”
It is clear that the winning mentality set by the manager has rubbed off on the players. The confidence that this has given off is clear for all to see.
That has been spoken about by McGinn. He said: “When we go behind before maybe we would have crumbled, but to be fair on Sunday we had our chests out, played strong and I was just really, really proud of the second half.”
It was a great performance and to come back from 1-0 down to secure three points is huge. This is not only for the game but also for the season and as a whole.
With the win, the Villans moved up to the Champions League places but McGinn said: “It’s unchartered territory for us, really exciting, but we can’t get carried away.”
It has been a great season so far and looks like it could be an iconic one should it continue. With Emery at the helm, it should stride forward as it has been.
