Unai Emery leads his side into a home game against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Matchday Four of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night.
Aston Villa’s manager faced questions on their European campaign to this point and a new contract for John McGinn among other topics at his pre-match press conference.
Here are the key lines from Emery…
On playing Maccabi Tel Aviv…
Unai Emery.
“It’s Europe, and we are playing in Europe against very good teams. Firstly, it’s about our respect for the Europa League, for the competition. Secondly, it’s about our respect for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“How we are in the table is most important. We are going into Matchday Four, playing at home, and when we played against Bologna at home we won.
“Tomorrow is very important, even more after the last match we lost in the Netherlands. Tomorrow is being very important for the points.
“The objective is to be in the top 24, but the first priority we can achieve to be in the top eight is better. We’re playing the game tomorrow to really get our best collectively.
“We want to enjoy the way through the Europa League.”
On Villa’s approach to the Europa League…
Feyenoord v Aston Villa
Feyenoord v Aston Villa
“The objective is to be first in the table. With our experiences in the Conference League, last year in the Champions League, and how we were managing the process in different moments through the table, we can set our objective as a priority.
“Our objective is to win every match. We lost one, and after it there are other teams in front of us. We have to try to get three points to be again contenders to be in the top eight.
“Through it, we can avoid one round. I know it’s difficult and we have to be aware about how we lost the last match against Go Ahead Eagles and how we must correct things tomorrow.
“Playing at home with our supporters will be a little bit different with how they support us and help us. This is the real objective: to win tomorrow and try to be in the top eight minimum.”
On dealing with the favourites tag…
Aston Villa v Bologna
Aston Villa v Bologna
“It’s difficult to set one team as the favourites. We can feel like contenders, but to win this competition is very difficult. Only one team is winning.
“This morning we were having a meeting and speaking about it: our wishes and how we are so happy to be playing Europa League. Our wishes are to win this competition.
“We have to focus on the process we are doing in each match and how we must set our focus in each match. And then we have to respect the competition.
“We lost against Go Ahead Eagles, and they showed us how we can lose some matches if we’re not respecting 100%, if we’re not playing focused 100%, if we’re not respecting the competition and the process, we’re not going to win.
“The most important thing is how we’re building the team, how we’re building our structure as strong as possible, and mentally how we are facing every moment we are playing in Europa League or Premier League.”
On John McGinn’s new contract…
John McGinn
“Three years we are together, and in those three years he showed us and he showed me how he is leading the team in all the moments.
“The most important thing is how he is responding on the field. On the field, he has responded very well. He is a very versatile player, helping us as a midfielder, as a winger, as a number ten.
“His commitment with Aston Villa is a huge commitment, before I arrived here and the three years we are doing together. He showed me it.
“What is John McGinn expecting from himself and Aston Villa in the next few years? He’s going to be an important player for us and for the supporters.”