Don Hutchison has lauded the performances of John McGinn and the job Unai Emery has done at Aston Villa, after their previous struggles under Steven Gerrard.
When Steven Gerrard was in the Villa Park dugout, the club were hovering above the relegation zone, whilst the newly-appointed captain, John McGinn, looked a shadow of the player that usually plays with so much fight and energy.
But, fast forward to the present, and former Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison has lauded McGinn for his recent performance against Tottenham and the ‘phenomenal’ job Emery has done, as he told Premier League Productions (13/05/23 at 9:45 pm).
Under Gerrard, McGinn was constantly being subbed by the Liverpool legend, without being dropped to the bench, as the signs were clear that his form had gone out of the window.
But, as soon as Emery has walked in, from his performance at Chelsea to his most recent display against Spurs, he has produced some of his best games in Aston Villa colours.
And Hutchison was full of praise for, both the club captain and their manager in the dugout.
“McGinn played against Spurs, in this sort of form, like he played for Scotland,” said Hutchison. “When he plays for Scotland, he plays as a number ten where you can free him up.
“He is always strong. He can use the ball. Maybe it was a lack of confidence, you are never quite sure what someone’s character is like when you are trying to judge from the outside.
“But McGinn is a player, if you get him playing. Talented and a very good player. Used in the right position.
“Some turnaround from Aston Villa. We had a conversation a couple of weeks back ‘who do you think is the manager of the year?’ From Eddie Howe, Mikel Arteta whilst they were top, but the job he (Emery) has done to get Villa away from the bottom three and into European football is phenomenal.”
MCGINN HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED UNDER EMERY
After producing some of the worst football of his career under Gerrard, the all-action Scotsman is now playing some of the best football of his career under a coach who knows what he is doing.
At one point against Spurs over the weekend, he left a number of opposition players on their backside, including forcing Harry Kane to face-plant on the floor as he skipped past him.
If Villa make Europe, then a player like McGinn is going to absolutely boss European football because his style of play suits that stage.
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