Aston Villa captain John McGinn shows true leadership amidst Champions League chase | OneFootball

An important aspect of leadership is accountability. Aston Villa went from being on the verge of going on a truly incredible, fairytale-like end of the season to now looking for a way to make it into Champions League for next year. The results against Crystal Palace and Manchester City were disappointing. There isn't any way to look at those losses otherwise.

Even so, John McGinn, coming off his 200th Premier League Villa appearance, made his feelings on the current outlook of the team known. For someone whose willingness and effort can't really be questioned, it was nice all the same to see the skipper come out and acknowledge the position that AVFC now finds itself in.

The win against Fulham on Saturday did a lot to reinvigorate energy back into the fanbase. After watching Villa bow out of CL and the FA Cup, then lose in the last moments to City, the same buzz that was seen during the second leg against PSG at Villa Park wasn't quite there as it had been not too long ago.

Words from Aston Villa's two-century PL man

Still, this is where the captain stepped up and echoed the legitimate feelings of the fans while giving a message of optimism. The Scotland international shared on X:

It's the words of him revisiting those past aforementioned performances while stating that even the three EPL points don't erase that pain that shows why many Villa supporters endear themselves to McGinn.

He, as well as the rest of his teammates, knows how close they were to making a continued run in Europe. The feeling of being on the cusp of potentially winning a trophy and then having it snatched away the way it did against Palace only further hurt. With the rest of the Prem to go, it appears that McGinn and Villa will look to channel the hurt after those significant losses and make a push in the standings, continuing to show their fight until the last matchday.