‘So close’: John McGinn turns focus to topfour race after Olympiakos defeat
John McGinn has claimed Aston Villa have “underachieved” after failing to win the Europa Conference League but the club captain is determined to ease the disappointment by leading them into the Champions League. Villa have not played in Europe’s premier competition since 1983.
Villa can seal fourth place in the Premier League with victory at home to Liverpool on Monday, though McGinn conceded there is a gnawing frustration that they have not already got the job done.
“There has been a determination for five or six weeks,” he said. “That is the frustrating thing, we could have had it wrapped up before now. But the Premier League is extremely difficult. We have certainly had some setbacks along the way but this group will keep fighting.”
McGinn said Villa failed to live up to expectations by exiting the Conference League in the semi-finals after a crushing 6-2 aggregate defeat by Olympiakos. “We were the favourites to go and win the trophy and everyone appreciated and embraced that,” the Scotland midfielder said.
“For us, the way we look at it at the moment is we have underachieved and there is a lot to learn. We know we have made the supporters proud and maybe in a couple of weeks, on reflection, we will be proud of ourselves. But right now there is a massive tinge of disappointment.”
Villa host Liverpool before a trip to Crystal Palace on the final day. Tottenham will hope Villa lose both matches and need to pick up at least four points from their final games – at home to Manchester City on Tuesday and away at Sheffield United on Sunday – and considerably boost their goal difference to pip Villa to fourth.
“We are so close,” McGinn said. “But we just have to focus on Monday night. I think we owe the supporters a performance. “We owe ourselves a performance after the effort throughout the season, the graft every single day coming in. It has been a long hard season with many [games] on the road but certainly one to be proud of. We don’t want to stop short. We know what we have to do. It is in our hands.”
Leon Bailey is a major doubt after being forced off at Olympiakos with a knee injury. Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Nicolò Zaniolo and Àlex Moreno are also being monitored after sustaining injuries. Emi Buendía returned to training following anterior cruciate ligament surgery.