McGinn family 'poker faces' ahead of Aston Villa game

"Split loyalties" have been reported on a 14-seater minibus carrying Aston Villa captain John McGinn's family and friends down to Birmingham, where his team plays Celtic later.

It's well known that proud Scot McGinn is a Celtic fan, and his brother Stephen said there were a few "poker faces" on the way down to the Midlands.

Villa are still in with a chance of making the top eight in the UEFA Champions League and qualifying automatically for the last 16 without having to go through the play-offs.

Speaking to BBC WM as they took a pit stop at Gretna services, Stephen said the minibus had a "bit of a mix" on board.

"My mum and dad are on it, and then some friends - so there are some split loyalties on there - some Celtic fans jumped on."

Laughing, he said: "Honestly, there's a lot of people doing some acting, so I'm not really sure. There are poker faces.

"What I do say is it's a nice problem to have in terms of both qualifying. Had it been Villa needing the three points and Celtic needing the three points, it would have been a bit tense."

The match is Aston Villa's final group game as they host Celtic at Villa Park

The match will be Aston Villa's final group game in the Champions League when they host Celtic at Villa Park - kick-off tonight is at 20:00 GMT.

Stephen said there was a lot of excitement and added: "Obviously, we used to go to Champion League games together, myself, John, and my other brother Paul, with my dad. My first thought was it was a big thing."

He claimed that Villa had "a lot of work to do" to try and win and get in the top eight and that maybe the result would go elsewhere.

But continued: "The fact that both sides have entered the next stage of the Champions League, it's a perfect day to go down and enjoy it."

His brother was playing against friends, Stephen added.

"There are a lot of people in the Celtic team that are national teammates.

"There's that bit of competitiveness in it. He wants to play well, and as I said to you, it's a big one for Villa."

The family are proud of what McGinn, centre, has achieved, Stephen said

The whole family was proud of what McGinn had achieved and particularly of the fact that he had not changed as a person throughout the journey, Stephen said.

He had "always been the same".

"It's great to see he's doing so well. As kids, Champions League was the ultimate. Then going tonight, seeing him standing there with the Champions League music, it's very special."

He said it was "a bit of a pilgrimage" for the family travelling from Scotland, adding: "It's going to be busy in Birmingham today, but hopefully all in good spirits - and the best team hopefully goes on and wins."