He is immortalized by the Villa fans with the chant 'Paul McGrath, my Lord' to the tune of Kumbaya Due to his commitment and supernatural ability to read the play, he was nicknamed 'God' by many Aston Villa supporters. Paul McGrath was revered by Aston Villa fans, especially after he lead them to the League Cup defeating former club Man United in the final. He was only the second Irishman to win the award after Liam Brady in 1978-79, and the third ever after Roy Keane in 1999-2000. The next season, when he was reunited with Ron Atkinson, McGrath was honoured with the PFA Player of the Year for 1992-1993. They struggled the following season after manager Graham Taylor departed.

Villa finished 2nd in the league in McGrath's first season in 1992. It was his move to Aston Villa when he really took off. United went on to win the game 1-0 thanks to Norman Whiteside's injury time winner. McGrath ended up with the man of the match award, after his heroics in defense once Kevin Moran was sent off. The relatively inexperienced McGrath had the uneviable prospect of marking former Young player and player of the year Andy Gray. Perhaps the highlight of his Manchester United career was his sole medal from that time. He had deceptive pace and when moved into the centre of defense he really grew as a player. McGrath had a languid style, being used effectively as a midfielder. The Irish contingent containing Moran, Stapleton and Whiteside also helped McGrath. Atkinson was a larger than life character, which helped McGrath settle in after taking a while to adapt to the rigourous training. Paul McGrath flourished in Ron Atkinson's Man United team. People talk about the lack of goals I scored against Man United and the reason for that was Paul McGrath, he was too good.

Back From the Brink by Paul McGrath