John McGinn spells out cold Aston Villa reality as Steven Gerrard prepares for transfer rebuild

John McGinn has revealed how Steven Gerrard has warned Aston Villa’s group of players that changes are to be made in the summer. Gerrard, 41, is preparing for his first summer transfer window as Villa chief and, this week, has explained how one or two deals to bring in new additions are 'not too far away'.

Scottish midfielder McGinn, meanwhile, has detailed what Gerrard has told him and the rest of Villa’s dressing room. “We’re extremely disappointed,” McGinn told VillaTV, with Villa wedged in 14th ahead of the season finale at Man City on Sunday. “I think with the calibre of player we’ve got in the dressing room we need to be doing a lot better.

“The manager has stressed he’s going to improve it. If we don’t improve personally and as a team, we’ll be the ones out of the door because this club is going to go one way and that’s up. So it’s whether we want to join in and improve, get this club into the top half because it certainly hurts because we can’t do that. We’ll take the summer to reflect and we’ll come back in good shape and be ready to go in Australia.”

McGinn added: “[Fans] deserve a lot more. I’ve read there’s 20,000 on a waiting list to come and see us at Villa Park when, essentially, we aren’t achieving what we want to achieve so they’re extremely loyal supporters and I’m sure they’ll be back in their numbers next season and, hopefully, we can give them a lot more to cheer about.”

Ahead of Villa’s trip to the Etihad on Sunday, the 27-year-old has outlined how he wants to spoil City’s party knowing a draw could hand Liverpool the Premier League title instead. “It’s going to be a completely different sort of game [vs Burnley] but, when you’re up against it and you’re the underdogs, sometimes that’s when you