Aston Villa captain John McGinn admits he regrets the sacking of Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard was dismissed before the World Cup break before being replaced by Unai Emery.

McGinn said: "It's been fine to adapt, I've just stayed myself. The one thing Steven Gerrard said to me when he made me a leader was, 'don't change yourself, be yourself', and that's the one thing, I've managed to do.

"I did not do as I would like under him, and I feel a little guilty about it. There are many players who have not performed this season.

"We have been indifferent, but we still have the opportunity to finish in the top 10, and we will follow that.

"The first Unai statement was that he wasn't happy to be here. He was not happy to have a team that had no confidence and performed poorly. He wanted to arrange the away form.

"We went to Brighton, somewhere all Premier League players would say is terrible, because they smash you, and we stood well that day and won."