John McGinn returns to Easter Road with Aston Villa on Wednesday after leaving in 2018 and said: “I never got the chance when I left to show my appreciation to the fans or anyone there.”
Well, Hibs fans will hope that the Scottish international, who captains the Midlands combine, and his team-mates don’t turn it on in the first-leg in Edinburgh.
The Scotland captain, with 56 caps to his credit, has done his homework on Hibs having watched the club’s home and away legs in the previous round of the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers with FC Luzern.
And the former Hibees favourite felt that the way his former team dealt with the Swiss side was “brilliant” and believed that Luzern played better at Easter Road than they did on their home pitch.
He added: “The way they (Hibs) handled the two legs was very mature. They never let any pressure get in their way. So, it is full credit to Hibs to get through.”
McGinn told Hibs’ official website that it will be nice to see the supporters and thank them for what was an amazing three years and added: “Hibs was a massive part of my life, the way they treated me through the three years was amazing.”
Villa boss Unai Emery said: “We have to be demanding and respectful of them (Hibs) and then try to impose our game plan in the two matches.”
A reminder that the kick-off in Edinburgh is 5.45pm with the return on Thursday, August 31 (8pm) at Villa Park, capacity 42,640 and Hibs have a total of 2,146 available for the North East corner of the Doug Ellis Stand.
PICTURE: Action from the last round against FC Luzern
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