John McGinn says Aston Villa are embracing the hard work needed to keep fighting at the top end of the Premier League.
The club sit third in the table after 21 games, building on the strong end to last season that secured a seventh place finish and European football.
Only Manchester City (93) won more league points than Villa (85) in 2023, and captain McGinn is hoping to continue pushing on under head coach Unai Emery as the year unfolds.
“The harder you work, the more you get out of it,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean you need to be running about every ten minutes doing ten gym sessions; it means as soon as you come in through these doors, you’re working.
“Once you leave, you’re with your family. Once you’re through these doors, we’re bang at it.
“Ever since he’s (Emery) come in it’s been full throttle. The good thing for us is that was a full calendar year of being in the form that we were in.
“A lot of people expected us to fall off and dip, but through that whole calendar year we kept a consistency that puts us among the best in the country.
“Hopefully we can carry that on this year.”
McGinn has made 214 appearances for Villa since joining from Hibernian in 2018, helping to establish the club in the top flight after winning promotion from the Championship.
The midfielder isn’t content with what he’s achieved in claret and blue thus far, and he’s keen to kick on again.
He said: “When you’re in the zone, playing all the time, playing cup games, playing international games, you don’t really get a chance to reflect and think.
“It’s when you get a few days off and you look back on 2023 that you realise I’ve achieved more in one year than I did in the three years previous.
“It’s been crazy but I don’t want it to stop.”
