Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa calls for calm over the club's slow start to the season
Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa
Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
Ezri Konsa is not panicking about Aston Villa’s early-season form, insisting that Unai Emery’s side will bounce back quickly.
Villa are yet to score this season, having drawn one and lost two of their opening three Premier League matches.
Newcastle United held them to a 0-0 draw at Villa Park on the opening weekend, before Villa suffered back-to-back defeats to Brentford and Crystal Palace ahead of the international break.
With the summer transfer window now closed and players away on international duty, Emery will be hoping to devise a plan to reverse his side’s early struggles when domestic action resumes next weekend against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“I think it’s part of football,” said Konsa about Villa’s start. “We’re only three games in. Look, we’ve done some recruitment on deadline day so hopefully the boys that have come in can really help us. Yeah, look, it’s been a tough start, we all know that but hopefully we can bounce back.
“I think it’s one of those ones – part of football. Even the top teams have a bad spell. Look, we’ve got a great manager, we’ve got a great squad. I know we’ll bounce back.
"When you’ve had two very good seasons, you obviously want to continue that and look, we want to stay up there. We want to stay in the top six, top five and the aim for everyone up there … we want to play Champions League football. That’s what we’re going to try to do.
"I’ve been at Villa for seven years, I’ve been there at its worst times so I know how bad it can be. But look, we’re not there yet. It’s three games in. We’ve got another tough two games when we go back so all focus will be on that after this international break is done."
He missed the Brentford match due to a red card he received on the opening weekend against Newcastle.
The Villa defender, currently representing Thomas Tuchel’s England for the World Cup qualifiers, was sent off for pulling down Anthony Gordon as the last man, before then bumping into the Three Lions boss face-to-face at Villa Park afterwards.
"Yes he was there,” Konsa laughed. “I didn’t want to see him but he was outside the door. He was laughing at me. Not much to say about that!
"I got red-carded but he was very helpful, very understanding. It was a boring game anyway! He didn’t think anything of it. I was actually sat next to him at the Brentford game when I was suspended so we managed to speak then.
"There was no small talk during the game, he was just focused. We only spoke at half-time. When we were watching the game he didn’t say one word."
Villa were denied a return to the Champions League on goal difference on the final day of last season, following a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United.
The loss was marred by controversy, as 10-man Villa had a goal wrongly disallowed with 20 minutes remaining.
“A million percent, of course,” Konsa said if it still irks him. “We knew going into that game what we needed to do. Obviously, the red card killed us in the first half.
“It made the game really difficult and I think everyone knows the decision that was made in the second half with Morgan Rogers’ goal really did affect us as well.
“Going into that game, the end result wasn't the best feeling. But we're going to try and bounce back and try and get back into the Champions League this season.”
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