John McGinn urges Aston Villa 'find the fire' to secure Champions League spot

Unai Emery’s men need just three more points to guarantee a fourth place finish and McGinn is desperate to ensure an excellent season does not end in disappointment.

The brutally honest Scot claimed Villa already “underachieved” by not winning the Europa Conference League and believes they owe both themselves and supporters a big performance after Thursday’s exit to Olympiacos.

McGinn said: “It has been a long hard season with many bumps on the road but certainly one to be proud of. We don't want to stop short.

“We know what we have to do. It is in our hands. It is going to be a very, very tough game, we know that.

“We obviously have the crucial benefit of other results potentially going our way but we want to get the job done ourselves and get into the top four, which would be an unbelievable achievement, though it won't take the disappointment away from Thursday night.”

Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Burnley on Saturday cut Villa’s lead to four points and McGinn admitted frustration at the race still being alive, with Emery’s team having blown two-goal leads at home to Brentford and Chelsea last month, before losing 1-0 at Brighton in their most recent Premier League match.

Emery has battled injury problems all season but his squad is currently stretched to the limit, with Alex Moreno, Nicolo Zaniolo and Youri Tielemans all battling to be fit. Leon Bailey is the latest injury concern after limping off in Greece.

McGinn knows whichever XI takes the pitch can count on the backing of a raucous home crowd but says it is ultimately down to the players to deliver.

“I think it is clear the boys need a lift,” said McGinn. “However, the fans have been there the past few weeks and it is up to us to deliver now.

“You can wave as many scarves as you want, shout our names as loud as you want but it is up to us to find that fire and get us over the line.

“There has been a determination for five or six weeks (to do that). That is the frustrating thing, we could have had it wrapped up before now.

“But the Premier League is extremely difficult. We have certainly had some setbacks along the way but this group will keep fighting.”

Villa were favourites to win the Conference League and end the club’s 28-year major trophy drought. McGinn admitted the pain of the 6-2 aggregate semi-final defeat would linger for a some time.

He said: “I think if you asked any of the players in the dressing room you would not be talking in 10 or 15 years about making the semi-final of a European competition.

“We were the favourites to go and win the trophy and everyone appreciated and embraced that.

“For us, the way we look at it at the moment is we have underachieved and there is a lot to learn.

“We know we have made the supporters proud and maybe in a couple of weeks, on reflection, we will be proud of ourselves.

“But right now there is a massive tinge of disappointment. It is certainly an opportunity missed over the two legs. For us as players we need to get going again on Monday and get the win to get the one task we have remaining over the line.”