Savour the moment - you never know when it will happen again.
One of Unai Emery’s regularly repeated messages to both Villa’s players and supporters is to “enjoy the way”.
What the Spaniard really means, of course, is savour the moment, his reasoning being in football you never quite know where the journey will ultimately take you, so it is dangerous to look too far ahead. Make the most of it, when you have the chance.
A quick glance at what is happening at Leicester and Tottenham is all you need to understand why that is such salient advice.
While much was made on Thursday night of Villa reaching a European semi-final exactly 10 years to the day since their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed, it is also worth remembering just a decade ago it was the Foxes and Spurs who were challenging for the title.
The former, of course, won the day to deliver one of the most extraordinary stories in the history of English football.
And though Tottenham did miss out, they still went on to play in a Champions League final four years later while, just 12 months ago, they were celebrating winning the Europa League.
But now? Now they are facing up to a relegation which feels all the more probable with every passing weekend, an event which - owing to the financial numbers - might be considered almost as remarkable a failure as Leicester’s 2016 success.
Not that the Foxes, six points adrift of safety in the Championship, these days have much cause for cheer.
“We’re the Tottenham of the Championship,” wailed one Foxes-supporting colleague earlier this week, railing against the attitude of his team’s expensively-assembled, rule-busting playing squad.
It wasn’t so long ago Leicester were held up as a model club, having fought their way up from the low of League One in 2009 to winning the Premier League title. Now they appear destined to end up back where they started.
Things change fast. If you’re still not convinced, just ask Gary O’Neil or Vitor Pereira.
The pair, both sacked by Wolves within the last 18 months, will now contest European semi-finals with Strasbourg and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Emery is right, in a sport as strange as this one, you really have to enjoy the good times while you can.
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