Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins had high praise for Unai Emery after the Spaniard's tactical tweaks helped stage a comeback at Chelsea
Ollie Watkins scored both of Aston Villa's goals at Chelsea
Ollie Watkins scored both of Aston Villa's goals at Chelsea
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Ollie Watkins says nobody should be surprised by Aston Villa’s remarkable form given the quality of the manager they have in the dug-out.
Unai Emery’s side have won 17 of their last 19 matches and taken 36 points from the last 39 available in the Premier League, after securing their eighth consecutive league victory against Chelsea on Saturday night.
Watkins came off the bench to turn the game on its head, scoring twice following his introduction just before the hour mark.
Villa’s run of eight straight top-flight wins is their best sequence since 1910. In all competitions, their 11-match winning streak equals a club record previously set in September 1897 and March 1914.
“I didn’t have a clue about that," Watkins said about equalling the 111-year record. “But it doesn’t surprise me with this manager. Every record he breaks, or we break, I am not surprised because it is down to him.
“There is confidence from the manager as he believes in us which is the most important thing. At the start of the season it was very difficult.
“We were losing a lot of games and things were not going our way. Now I think he really believes in us and I think he is excited for the next game.”
Asked what makes Villa so strong, Watkins said: “I just think it is the manager really. He works so hard and he is so focused. It is resilience, really.
“He sees stuff in the game and changes things at half-time. Chelsea were very good in the first half but at the break he was so calm.
“In games where you think he is going to shout at us and get on to us, he is the opposite. In games where we think we have done well he ends up getting on to you and demands more. It is down to him.”
The win over Chelsea ensured that Villa will head to Arsenal with the opportunity to draw level on points with the league leaders on Tuesday night.
“It is difficult. We have just lost two players from the starting XI in Bouba [Kamara] and Cashy [suspensions], who are hard to replace,” Watkins said.
“We need to just keep pushing and avoid injuries and bookings like that because we need everyone to be fit and playing regularly. To miss those two is hard but we just have to focus on ourselves.”
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