Fixtures
- Tottenham Hotspur Vs. Aston Villa – Sun, Nov 3rd 2024, 14:00
Captain John McGinn believes now is the time for cool heads and perspective, after Aston Villa fell to a 4-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Villa went in at half-time ahead in North London, though succumbed to a second-half fightback from the hosts at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
McGinn called for he and his teammates to take stock of their progress as a side, apply perspective and remain positive ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Club Brugge.
He said: “We’ve got to keep our heads a bit in there, keep a bit of perspective, [and] realise the progress we’ve made as a team, [and] the start to the season we’ve had.
“Many teams will come here and suffer that defeat, definitely. Every time we’ve won here, we’ve suffered heavily for 90 minutes.
“For us, it’s about keeping perspective, [and] staying positive. There’s a long, long way to go. Spurs beat us 4-1 last season and we managed to finish above them.
“So, we’ll be staying positive. We’ve got a big game on Wednesday, and we keep going.
“We’ve got to take our medicine today, [and] stay positive like the manager has just touched on.
“We’ve got Champions League on Wednesday and then another tough game on Saturday, so [we will] rest up, recover and go again.”
Reflecting on the game, the Scotsman admitted Villa’s mistakes were pounced upon by Ange Postecoglou’s side after the break.
He praised the first-half performance from the Villans, but found life difficult after Brennan Johnson had levelled the affair shortly after the restart.
“We had a good first half,” McGinn added.
“Usually, in the second half, a bit of space opens up, but it opens up for both teams.
“An amazing cross from [Heung-Min] Son, 1-1, and then this place got loud – probably as loud as I’ve heard it as an away player.
“The way we lost the goals pretty quickly, probably making the wrong decisions at the wrong times, can happen.
“The first half, we were a little bit more solid, but maybe the goal had an impact. They got a little bit of confidence, momentum, and played with a little bit more speed.
“From there, [with] their momentum, their speed, they deserved to win, and we hold our hands up.
“They punished our mistakes. You get punished in this league, and Tottenham proved that today.”
