John McGinn urged Aston Villa to "make sure we're not nearly men" after reaching the Europa League final by overturning their first-leg deficit against Nottingham Forest.

Villa lost the first leg 1-0, but they were emphatic in the second on home soil, running out 4-0 winners to book a showpiece meeting with Freiburg.

Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Buendia scored either side of half-time to put Villa ahead on aggregate in the tie, but it was McGinn's quickfire double that made sure of their place in the showpiece.

This was the biggest-ever margin of victory by an English side against another club from the country in any European competition.

Villa have reached their first major European final since the 1982 European Cup final, 44 years ago. The only English clubs to have a longer gap between such finals are Manchester City (51 – 1970 to 2021) and West Ham (47 – 1976 to 2023).

And McGinn is determined to walk away from Istanbul with the trophy, as Villa look to end their 30-year wait for silverware.

"I'm normally quite calm before games, but I was nervous. [It] was up with one of the best performances I've seen from a Villa team for a long time," McGinn, who became the first Villa player to score a brace in a European final, told TNT Sports.

"I wasn't nervous in terms of the team turning up. We've turned up in big games, maybe just not in big semi-finals.

"The injuries Forest have had maybe helped decide it, but we needed to capitalise – and we did. The atmosphere in here was electric.

"Anything can happen in a game. You can get somebody sent off in the first 10 minutes, first 15. We didn't want to leave these games with any regrets, and I think we've done ourselves massive justice.

"We've had low moments, definitely. It's a demanding club to play for, but when it's like this, Villa Park is electric. What we've done in the last few years is exceptional.

"The margins in football are so slim. If we lose [against Forest], we're the nearly men. When we go to Istanbul, we need to make sure we're not the nearly men."

Unai Emery has reached his sixth major European final – all in the Europa League from 2014 to 2026. Only Giovanni Trapattoni has managed more major finals in European competition.

Emery has now progressed from his last 23 two-legged ties in the Europa League, and McGinn only had high praise for the Spaniard, who had overseen three straight defeats in all competitions heading into this match.

"He's experienced a lot more European semi-finals than us," McGinn added.

"In the Conference League semi-final, we probably went a little bit too gung-ho, but we managed it.

"He's been amazing, but so have all the managers I've played under. Steve Bruce gave me the confidence to play in England, Dean Smith gave me the confidence to play in the Premier League, Steven Gerrard taught me how to be a leader."