John McGinn played his 100th game for Aston Villa in last week’s draw against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
And while the result wasn’t ideal given the Magpies’ late equaliser, McGinn’s milestone match was a chance for the player, fans and staff to reflect on how far he has come since joining the club from Hibernian in 2018.
A relative unknown quantity to Villa supporters on his arrival, the midfielder’s all-action displays, eye for goal and persona off the pitch saw him quickly adopted as a fan favourite.
“It’s the first time I’ve looked at a milestone in my career and thought ‘wow, that’s massive for me’,” McGinn reflected.
“It’s given me more hunger to keep improving and keep trying to get better, especially for Aston Villa.”
His current status as an established Premier League player and Scotland international seemed a long way off in 2015 when his career was in a state of flux after he parted ways from St Mirren.
The 26-year-old came close to joining MLS side Houston Dynamo before he signed with Hibernian, where he enjoyed three successful seasons before Villa came calling.
He said: “At that point, if you’d told me I’d have been a Premier League player for Aston Villa, it would just be surreal. It’s been an amazing journey and I don’t want it to stop now.
“Coming down to England, I had a feeling of ‘let’s go and show English football what I can do.’ My dad’s not very vocal, he’s not someone who gives me ridiculous amounts of advice, but he said before the Wigan game (McGinn’s debut for Villa), ‘go and show what you can do.’
“And I remember in the first five minutes of the game, I charged down a hopeless ball, got a block on it and the place erupted. I just knew right then that this would be the fit for me.
“It was the best decision to come to this club, I feel at home here.”
McGinn’s upward trajectory has aligned with the club’s, and he wrote his name into the history books when he scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 2019 Championship Play-Off Final to take Villa back to the top-flight.
However, the Scot isn’t resting on the achievements of his Villa career so far and remains intent on pushing himself and the club to the next level.
He said: “You’d be lying if you said you didn’t have ambitions of carrying on your journey and to go and play in Europe, to play in the Champions League. It’s amazing to know that the club shares the same ambition.
“I feel so settled here and so happy. Long may that progression continue.”
