Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn has claimed that the club silenced critics with their convincing disposal of Derby County, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Villa made a poor start to the season and their inability to haul themselves out of mid-table obscurity led to the dismissal of Steve Bruce. Dean Smith was plucked from league rivals Brentford to replace him and he oversaw a magnificent display against the Rams.
24-year-old McGinn has been a shining light for the Villains since the beginning of the campaign and starred again as Derby were brushed aside.
The industrious midfielder was a summer addition from Hibernian and has endeared himself to supporters with his vision, workrate and ability to unlock defences. He provides the Villa midfield with both tenacity and flair, which has established him as a firm fans’ favourite at Villa Park.
After etching his name on the scoresheet in Saturday’s win, McGinn conceded that it was pleasing to silence those who have doubted the club’s promotion credentials:
“That is the benchmark. It’s pleasing to silence a few critics and show what we can do.”
A Midlands derby will provide Villa with their next test and the midfielder has called for cool heads ahead of Sunday’s clash with Birmingham City:
“You need to keep a cool head. It’s easy to get sucked in and get booked or sent off.”
When Villa and Birmingham go head-to-head, it is always a fiercely-contested affair but could be even more so on Sunday as the two sides are level on 24 points.
Garry Monk’s side were held to a 3-3 draw by Hull City on Saturday but Villa will have to be aware of the threat posed by marksman Che Adams, who netted a hat-trick. Fellow frontman Lukas Jutkiewicz has also impressed in recent weeks and the Blues won’t fear Dean Smith’s confident Villains.
