The Villa Park ace put in a man-of-the-match display as Dean Smith’s side beat Derby County in the Championship playoff final.
Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn has taken to Instagram with an emotional picture of himself celebrating on the Wembley turf along with a three-word caption which perfectly sums up the goings-on of the last week.
Just three months ago, it seemed almost inconceivable that Dean Smith’s charges would be officially planning for life back in the Premier League during the summer given how far off the pace they had been during the first two thirds of the 2018-19 season.
Villa’s 1-1 draw with Stoke City on 23 February had left them 11th in the Championship table, eight points adrift of the playoffs and having played at least one game more than three of the teams in those positions (BBC Sport).
However, the West Midlanders embarked on a superb winning run which elevated them into the playoff spots, holding firm to seal a place in the semi-finals, where they saw off West Bromwich Albion to book a Wembley date against Derby County.
On Monday, Villa ran out 2-1 winners over the Rams, with McGinn putting in yet another man-of-the-match performance which certainly bodes well as he prepares to grace the top flight of English football.
Here is the Scotland international’s straight-to-the-point post:
Upon joining Villa from Hibernian last summer, McGinn told reporters: “It’s a Premier League club and deserves to be there. Everyone in the Championship has that aim. For some of them, it’s a fantasy, but here there is a real ambition that it could happen.” (BBC Sport)
Villa have just three weeks before finding out which opponents they will face at which points of the upcoming Premier League season, with the fixtures set to be released at 9am on Thursday 13 June.
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