Aston Villa captain John McGinn has commented on his team's first victory of the season – a thrilling 3-2 win against Tottenham in the fifth round of the Premier League.
McGinn admitted that the squad felt the pressure after a shaky start to the campaign:
'It's a relief. You don’t want to be in the relegation zone before the international break.'
'I think we played really poorly in the first half. We showed nothing in attack, but in the second half, we stood firm and deserved the win.'
The Villa skipper also highlighted the response from manager Unai Emery and how the team prepared for the match.
'The coach was quite pleased that we went into halftime at 0-0. Usually, we’re a lot more organised than we were in the first half. Before the match, he explained in detail how we could win.'
McGinn specifically praised Nicolas Jackson’s goal, noting that it was something the team had worked on in training:
'He will be very pleased with that goal because we worked on that kind of moment in practice. He’s determined to help us get back to where we were in previous years, alongside a new group of players.'
When asked if he started to worry about the slow season start, McGinn shared his thoughts:
'You start to wonder if the new players will believe in what made us successful in recent years. But the new boys are getting to grips with these principles. It takes time. It’s not easy, but ultimately it brings joy.'
This victory over Tottenham marked Aston Villa’s first win of the current campaign. Despite the hosts managing to narrow the deficit to one goal following three strikes from Villa, the win was a significant boost for Emery's side.
