Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers
Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers
Morgan Rogers sat down with the media ahead of Aston Villa's Champions League clash against RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday night (8pm kick-off).
The 22-year-old forward has played every one of Villa's Premier League and Champions League matches this season and could make his 21st appearance of the campaign against Leipzig. Here is every word Rogers said in the pre-match press conference...
How do you reflect on the last year?
"It’s hard to put into words, everything has happened so quickly. The next challenges kept falling into my lap. I’m loving it, I’m enjoying it. This was my dream and ambition as a kid. These experiences are vital for me and there’s not a better manager to be alongside that pushes me to become the player I know I can be. There’s still a long way to go to become the player I want to be. I want to keep pushing and get to where I want to be. Hopefully I can do that with Villa."
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What do you want to achieve next?
"I want to be an established Premier League player, which I don’t think I am yet. I want to be a consistent player in the national team and want to play on the biggest stages and be considered as one of the best players in the competitions. I know I can get there but there is a long way to go. There is a lot of learning, a lot of experiences I will have to get through."
Why do you not think you're an established Premier League player yet?
"I’ve not played enough games, I don’t think, to consider myself an established player. I need more consistency in my game, more games under my belt in terms of taking that next step and really cementing that Premier League status. That is why I made that comment. I still think there is more to come and more consistency in my performances, game to game and week to week."
How important is it to have Emery's trust?
"The big one is to keep going, not everything will be perfect and not every game I will be able to show what I am capable of, but I will keep going and keep persevering. I need to keep in the team and keep showing what I’m about. In football not everything is perfect but if I have the right attitude and mindset to keep going, the good will come of it, not just for me but in general for the team. I am only human but I need to stay level headed and keep sticking to my task."
What did you learn on the senior England training camp?
"Just the whole experience. I’ve not been used to that environment and learning from players who have done it at the biggest stage and the biggest level, the way they train, conduct themselves and try and take it all in and use it to my advantage and see how I can improve myself. It’s a really good thing for me to be involved in and it will only help me get to where I want to get to and get a lot further. It was a really big opportunity and it really helped me in my career."
How difficult is the schedule?
"I thought the Championship was hard but this is a whole new level. It’s difficult but that’s what recovery is there for. It is about eating, sleeping good and training right. It is about understanding your body better than anyone else. Everyone’s might look different and everyone uses different things but it is just about making sure you’re ready to go when the whistle blows.
"Every player is needed. It’s about stepping up and helping the team, that’s how you become successful in all competitions, which is what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to compete in all of them, trying to win as many games as possible. It is about understanding your body and using that to your advantage."
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Aston Villa face RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, December 10. The game will be broadcast on Amazon's Prime Video and can be streamed free by signing up for an Amazon Prime 30-day free trial.
Every Champions League and Europa League game is also available on TNT Sports with Discovery+ Premium.