08 October 2023 , 05:00
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John McGinn has bottled the upset from past Molineux defeats - and plans to use that hurt to fire Villa to derby glory.
The bustling midfielder says Wolves’ fans ‘don't mind rubbing it in our faces’ after being on the end of a familiar defeat in the Black Country on his last two visits. Indeed, Villa have lost on five of their last six trips to Molineux - their only victory came during lockdown - and the Scotland international says it’s time that record stopped.
And if any of his colleagues don’t understand what’s at stake, he will hammer home the point before kick-off.
He said: “We need to bottle the feeling we’ve had from the last couple of times we’ve been there. We haven’t beaten them there since the COVID era when there were no supporters. They don’t mind rubbing it in our faces when they get three points - so I’ll be letting our new lads know that it’s a very tough place to play - they get right on your back.
“So, we need to be at it. We need to roll up our sleeves and be ready for this battle and show the qualities we’ve been showing in the Premier League so far. We need to win the fight first. We’ve given ourselves far too much to do at Molineux in the past couple of seasons, allowing them to get a foothold in the game, losing second balls, tackles and then we don’t show what we can do.
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“They played extremely well against Manchester City last week. And that’s what they did. Fought for every ball and when the chances came, they took them. We respect them, massively. They’ve got a very good manager in Gary O’Neil but we’re in great form - and we need to carry that on.”
Villa raised a few eyebrows throughout the country last week when they hit Brighton for six. McGinn said that the club had been going about its business quietly until the Ollie Watkins-inspired show KO’d the Seagulls.
He said: “I think it was coming. We hadn’t been playing the way we knew we could - but we’ve still been picking up results, creeping up the table and going under the radar. What we have to deal with now is teams approaching us in a different way.
John McGinn in action against Wolves (GETTY)“That style of game suited us. We needed to dig deep but we’ve got two speed demons up front to make sure we’ve got an out-ball. We need to improve when teams come and sit deep. We need to be more patient, make more runs.
“It’s something we’re working on. We’re getting there. We’re not there yet but we’re giving ourselves to be right in the mix for some special things.”
Emery has now been in charge almost a year and McGinn says that Villa fans should stay patient because the club’s boss is a winner.
He added: “The manager dreams the same way that we do. He’s patient when it comes to ideas and tactics - but he wants to win and wants to win now. You can see that with how ambitious he is, with the signings he’s making.
“As players, it’s up to us. You can either get on board - get on that train and improve - otherwise, you’ll be shifted out - we’ve seen that already. Hopefully, I can keep improving and being part of that group.”