Latest Aston Villa news as director of football operations Damian Vidagany discusses Unai Emery and Villa's aims
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery(Image: PA)
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Director of football operations Damian Vidagany has made clear there are no ‘limits’ to Aston Villa’s sense of ambition under owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.
The Spaniard has admitted it is more difficult for clubs like Villa to challenge for silverware while abiding by the financial regulations. But he is certain having ‘genius’ boss Unai Emery at the helm is a huge advantage.
Emery has been in charge for three years and has overseen a transformation in the West Midlands. Under his stewardship, Villa have gone from battling at one end of the Premier League table to the other and have returned to the European stage.
Asked whether the club can win the biggest titles, despite the constraints of profitability and sustainability rules, Vidagany told the BBC: "Why not?
“I think that is difficult because there is of course a empirical correlation between expense and success. As much you can spend with good management, you are closer to get the trophies. But I think that there is other ways to get success that is through the hard work, through the culture, through the good academy.
"I don't think that we have to put limits in our dreams, but it's going to be harder than for another club. But, I close my eyes and if we scored the fourth goal against Paris Saint-Germain (in last season’s Champions League quarter-final aggregate defeat), we were not far to be there. Big money is important - it's the most important - but big money without good management is worse than good management without money."
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Vidagany joined Villa at the same time as Emery, in 2022. He can see how much has changed in that time, with the manager at the heart of the progress made.
"We are creating the Aston Villa that we had the vision for when we met (owner) Nassef Sawiris," Vidagany said. “Trying to change some things that were different than we expected or we wanted, but also, and this is very important to us, keeping the essence of the club. Keeping the people that are really good people that there were in the club.
"Maybe they need a different guidance to give the best, and I think that Aston Villa always have been a big club but now it's a big club that is getting results. You need to do a big effort to keep going because maybe it can be luck at the beginning but to keep the level, and this is the most difficult, this is why I think that Unai has been a genius.
“His spirit, his work, the coaching staff also, has been unbelievable because they are never satisfied. They always want more and more and more."