Unai Emery's programme notes ahead of facing Man City centre on his three years at the club
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
View Image
Finding an opportunity to shape a football club’s future is not something Unai Emery takes for granted, as his programme notes reveal ahead of Aston Villa’s Premier League clash against Manchester City.
Villa have won their last two home matches against City and are aiming for a fourth consecutive Premier League victory following wins over Fulham, Burnley and Tottenham last time out.
Emery celebrated his three-year anniversary at Villa earlier this week, although the occasion was somewhat dampened by a shock defeat to Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer in the Europa League.
In his programme notes for the City game, Emery reflected on the club’s progress during his tenure so far.
“Three years ago, I was landing in Birmingham. Time flies when you love what you do and where you are. It has been three positive years enjoying and competing, but we are still building a team. It is a never-ending process to get better.
“In October 2022, Nassef Sawiris offered me a PROJECT in every sense of the word, letting me bring in top technical staff like Roberto and Damian. It’s a situation that is hard to find in football.
“I’m grateful to him, Wes Edens and Michael Angelakis for giving us the responsibility to not just run a football team but also run a football project.
“Leading the club to European competition for three years and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals reflected the fact that we were competitive - every person who makes up Aston Villa must be competitive and offer hard work.
“And now we only look forward and toward our future. We must keep our hunger and ability to be a tough team to face.
“The current Premier League is the most difficult league in the world, given the number of teams fighting for top objectives.
“There are many clubs with greater revenues. There are other clubs looking to grow like us, and they’re close to our budget level. But we are doing a good job on the business side to grow the club and that has never been an excuse not to fight among the best.
“I can proudly say we are a well-organised club that strives to be more efficient every day. During this period, we’ve built a good squad. We sold great players with high market value but we’ve also reinvested in quality signings and mainly in higher wages for players we previously wouldn’t be able to keep.
“The players are committed to the club and to our style of play. We try to get results through development and bringing the best out of our players. It is a source of pride to have brought in new talent but also to see 10 players who were here before our arrival are still with us and increasingly recognised for their performances.”
Will Villa return to the Champions League next season? Tell us here
Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content.
Our dedicated reporter John Townley - who you can follow on X by clicking here - follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.
So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here.
You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.
If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here.
Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.
Content Image
Content Image