Yahoo News John McGinn reveals 'what needs looking at' as he plots Aston Villa injury return
Aston Villa captain John McGinn is of the belief that clubs' and players' workloads need to be managed in an era where there is more football being played than ever before. McGinn is currently recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in the recent win over Wolverhampton Wanderers and, as a result, he'll miss one of the biggest games in the club's recent history when they welcome Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
Villa's Champions League campaign, which kicked off in Switzerland with a 3-0 win over Young Boys, is underway and is a reward for their performance last season - but also the increased game time is a consequence which the squad must be able to cope with. Added to the fact that there are now at least eight games to be played per club, as opposed to six, and Villa - through in the EFL Cup, too - are practically playing two games a week currently.
The games continue to come thick and fast after the international break, in which a host of Villa players - but alas, not McGinn - will head off around the world to represent their respective countries. The Scot, out for the coming weeks as he recovers, believes it's a situation which must be reviewed.
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"I do think that the fixture schedule is getting out of hand," he told Betano. "We are extremely lucky to be paid very well to do a job we love but on the mental side, you need that time to switch off. I think I’ve experienced both sides of the coin. When we were mid-table, not playing as many games and not having much to play for at the end of the season, we were desperate to play more games and be more successful.
"Even when we first got into Europe, I just wanted the games to keep coming! It does really start to take its toll though, and you need to be able to switch off from the game both mentally and physically more often, it needs looking at."
Despite the concerns surrounding the volume of competitive matches McGinn and his teammates are being expected to complete, he does believe that Villa have the depth and quality in the squad to challenge and venture deep into the newly formatted Champions League, in which more football awaits for those who finish in the first 24 of the 36-team table - the skipper and his colleagues are aiming for higher.
"The expectation in the dressing room is that we finish in the top eight and go all the way," he added. "We know what we are capable of and that we belong at this level. I think there was more expectation and pressure on us to get far in the Europa Conference League last season.
"We embraced that we were the favourites to go and win that tournament and we couldn’t deliver on that. That experience has only made us stronger to go further this year. Playing Bayern Munich and Juventus at Villa Park will be special, I cannot wait for that atmosphere. I'm glad we've been able to deliver that to our supporters."
