John McGinn jokes about 'love-hate' relationship with Aston Villa manager Unai Emery

The Villa skipper, who made his 500th career appearance in the midweek draw with leaders Liverpool, has become a key cog in the successful Villa side ever since Emery took charge of the club.

He has acknowledged in the past that the Villa boss revived his career after arriving at Villa Park - admitting his stock was 'low' when Emery came in.

And in an interview with TNT Sports, McGinn jokingly revealed what he and Emery sometimes hate each other, but also have massive belief and respect for each other too.

He explained: "He said the other day that he hates me sometimes. I said that I hate him. We don’t. We’ve got a love-hate relationship. He’s very demanding, ever since he came in. I’m so grateful for him, because at that time, my stock at Villa was at its lowest. 

"But the manager looked at things with his own eyes and decided that I could be a big part of his plans, and he showed massive belief in me. He trusts me. He’s very, very hard on me. I don’t know whether that’s because I’m captain and he knows that I can take it. I’m used to that with Neil Lennon and other managers I’ve had up the road.

“I’m used to getting criticised in front of everyone. He is very hard on me, but I feel like I’m learning all the time and he knows that if I’m needed to play left-back, up front, right mid, left mid, he knows that he can rely on me.

"The last few games, I’ve been centre mid, which is a very demanding position in his system. It’s been very different. For me to learn off someone of that stature and his achievements in the game has been first-class. 

"He understands me a bit more. When he asks me to speak to the dressing room, he says to be calm and slow. He’s been amazing and hopefully, he’s here for many years to come."