Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn has outlined his dreams of winning a trophy at the club.
Aston Villa are battling across all fronts this term as Unai Emery attempts to mastermind a campaign that will go down in the club’s history
The last time Villa picked up major silverware was when they beat Leeds United in the 1996 League Cup final.
For a club of their size and stature, going nearly 28 years without lifting a trophy would have been unthinkable at the time, but Emery has made it a possibility again.
After a sensational start to the season, Villa are second in the Premier League and firmly in the race for the title, they’ve made it to the last 16 of the Europa Conference League and reached the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Given how well they have performed, this is certainly their best chance of gleaning silverware and captain John McGinn has been at the heart of that.
The Scot has already amassed 30 appearances across all competitions having featured in every single match for the club so far.
He’s integral to Emery’s system as he can play as one of the two midfield anchors, as a left midfielder or cutting in from the right.
McGinn has also weighed in with some vitally important goals this term, including the 94th minute winner against Zrinjski Mostar that saw Villa get off the mark in the Europa Conference League and cruise into the next round.
John McGinn is ‘dreaming’ of lifting silverware at Aston Villa
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash against Everton in the Premier League, the £120k-a-week machine has spoken about his dream of lifting a trophy at Villa Park and what it would mean to him.
He told BBC Sport: “I’d be lying if I hadn’t pictured it or been nervous about dropping a trophy. I know that’s probably the wrong answer in terms of a club PR point of view but I’m allowing myself to dream and that would certainly be one of the pinnacles of my career so far.”
Given the position Emery’s side find themselves in, it’s probably too early to dream about lifting silverware, though it’s the feeling of winning a trophy that will spur the players on when the going gets tough.
A lot of their success in the second half of the season could hinge on how their transfer window plans out.
Villa do need to plug some gaps in their squad to challenge for the title, including cover for Matty Cash at right-back, a left-sided winger to challenge the likes of Leon Bailey and a striker to compete with Ollie Watkins.
If they do nail another transfer window under Monchi, no one can rule them out of a long run in the FA Cup, repeating West Ham’s heroics in the Europa Conference League, or even doing the unthinkable by lifting the Premier League title.
For now, though, Emery will be taking it one match at a time and Villa can go top of the table by beating Everton tomorrow.
