John McGinn sat down with the media at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Monday evening ahead of Aston Villa's Champions League clash against Club Brugge tonight.
The Scot could make his 34th appearance of the season for Villa and his seventh in the Champions League. Here is every word McGinn said in the pre-match press conference...
Is it beneficial to have already played at Brugge?
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"It depends. It is beneficial for both teams. Neither side has changed their style too much. The game was tight here before, but Club Brugge deserved to win, so we need to be at our best to get a result.
"We need to play a lot better than what we played before. We know we need to be at our best to get a result. We analysed the game this morning, so we know the parts of the game which we were poor at, so we are well set for tomorrow."
How impressed have you been with Rashford and Asensio?
"They come with a huge reputation. They are hungry and want to succeed, they work hard and that’s all you want as a teammate. There are no big egos. We haven’t seen that yet if there is.
"They have both fitted in well, Marco had a couple of goals at the weekend and I’m hoping one of them falls to the feet of Rashford so he can get off the mark. Obviously they are two brilliant players and delighted they are here."
Are you contenders in the cup competitions?
"He cleared that up a little bit. He didn’t mean it. When he says that he means we are not favourites. He cleared that up a little bit with us at the weekend before the FA Cup. We are contenders to win every competition we are in. Some competitions we will be more fancied in than others.
"He cleared that up with us at the weekend. He meant not favourites because being in these competitions, we are contenders. We have so much to look forward to and an opportunity to make history. The exciting thing for us is that we haven’t hit top form yet.
"We have so much more to give. There has been an inconsistency about us this season. Hopefully at the end of the season it will click and we can do something special."
What did he feel the need to clear it up?
"He just wanted to clear it up in case it was sending the wrong message that we weren’t ambitious or anything like that."
Are you dark horses in the Champions League?
"That’s for you to judge. We have a very difficult tie over two legs. We have a bit of sporting revenge so hopefully we can do that."
Villa's away record has been poor this season - why is that?
"We’re aware of it, it’s not something we’re ignoring. We know going away it’s very difficult no matter where you go in the Premier League or Europe. We’ve had some good results this season, like Leipzig among a couple others, but we’ve been far too inconsistent, far too easy to play against and far too easy to score against.
"We’re aware of those things and need to change them. We can’t change those things that have happened. We need to start with a clean sheet and try and nick a goal on a counter. It was something we were very good at last season, we were tough to break down and good on the break."
Do you prefer playing further forward and deeper?
"I have no preference. The manager knows this. I think he appreciates it. Probably similar to Youri, both of us have been used higher up, both happy to help the team. There have been injuries in the central position and this is an I’ve played most of my career. I play anywhere on the pitch, I don’t care. I’m an unselfish player. I don’t have a preference providing it’s on the pitch and not on the sideline."
What is the reason for inconsistencies?
"You can use all the injuries and the amount of games, but last season we adapted a no excuse mentality, the manager wouldn’t let us. It’s on us as players not hitting the same levels as last season. Competing in the elite competition in Europe has taken its toll domestically and we know we’ve got it in us to put a run together.
"We’ve proven that over the last seasons. We’re excited to get some players back, there’s a little bit more of a spark and a buzz, the squad is going to get healthier towards the end of the season."
Is there a dip in mentality when you win games?
"No, I don't think so. Games can swing either way. For example at Palace, we started well. The goal was offside, we should do better before it and then after we don’t react well enough. Mentally I don’t think we’re short of confidence.
"I just don’t think we have clicked into top gear yet. There has been a lot of disruption, some new faces. New faces are in and that takes time. Hopefully before the end of the season we start to gel a lot sooner than what we have been."
