Unai Emery spoke with the press ahead of Aston Villa's Champions League clash against Club Brugge on Wednesday
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Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery(Image: PA)
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery sat down with the media ahead of the Champions League round of 16 second leg tie against Club Brugge.
Villa have a two-goal lead after beating Brugge 3-1 at the Jan Breydel Stadium last week. Here is every word Emery said in the pre-match press conference...
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How have you prepared for the game considering you have a two-goal lead?
“Nothing changes. We are respecting them a lot. We have our own experiences, myself and the players as well, in our careers.
“Tomorrow anything could happen. It’s a football match and a lot of things can happen in 90 minutes. The match can change so quickly.
“We won there but we won in the last minutes with two actions that we had. That’s football, but the respect is massive. The respect of them is massive.
“The result for us is to follow the same gameplan we had there. We’re going to play another 90 minutes tomorrow in the second leg.
“We’re ready to compete for 90 minutes. We’re ready in case of extra-time and we’re ready in case we will need a penalty shoot-out.”
You have said the Premier League is your priority and you are deep in the FA Cup too - how does that impact your selection?
"We must separate now each competition and after it try to focus on one. The challenges we have tomorrow in the Champions League is really a huge challenge we are going to face.
"The challenge is to achieve something as a club, something for the supporters. Something for the history and something as well as a professional - players, the coaches, myself. But to achieve it is facing the challenge tomorrow thinking everything can happen.
"We will face tomorrow the match, following the same idea we had before. Of course, with the result 1-3. But we have to respect them, because they can score. We have some experiences at home, against Celtic we were winning 2-0 and they came back in five minutes to be drawing.
"How we are going to face and prepare to plan the season from now at the end is really trying to get our best, collectively our best individually, something we didn't achieve this season yet."
How important will the home crowd be?
“The supporters know the importance of our process here – not only in Villa Park but the supporters that were in Bruges.
“The environment, helping and supporting us, is very important to be motivated, excited and pushing us to show them our best and get our performances like we are showing in Villa Park with everything – tactically, individually and emotionally to connect with our supporters. Their energy and our energy.
“It’s really special moment tomorrow in Villa Park, and we have to be together and we have to enjoy it. We have to be getting balance, but emotionally we have to enjoy it.”
Will Martinez and Asensio play?
"They are in the squad. Onana is as well is in the squad. Barkley is not. Malen and Andres aren’t. Other players will be in the squad."
Morgan Rogers - why is he so indispensable for you?
“With how football is changing, I appreciate a lot the players being versatile, playing different positions, understanding everything tactically. One of them in our squad is clearly Morgan Rogers, and John McGinn as well.
“This versatility and performing like we are always needing is really very important. Sometimes I’m pushing other players to be versatile or to adapt. Being versatile in case we will need it.
“Not every player is ready to do it, but Morgan Rogers is always positive and his versatility is very important for us. In the last match, we played in different positions with Morgan.
“He played striker, number ten, right side, left side, and he’s always performing very well because he’s a player who understands tactically everything we are planning and he has the qualities to do it.
“The importance he has now is trying to improve. I’m always pushing him to get more of him, but physically as well he’s keeping the level we needed until today. Hopefully tomorrow he can be ready to play 90 minutes, performing like he is doing.”
How important is it to create a new history with Villa?
“We have our challenges, our vision of how we want to increase our level and achieve different objectives. We are now evolving in it.
“To play in the Champions League has been fantastic, but my objective is to be consistent playing in Europe and the Champions League.
“Everything we are achieving is because we are in a new way. It’s a new demand, starting from the owners, starting from the club, starting with everything we are trying to set inside.
“I think the supporters are in the same way. To keep it is difficult. This is the challenge I have. You can remember my objective when I arrived here firstly was to be contenders for trophies, to play in Europe – maybe the first objective I had was to be in Europe.
“We got it last year and this year. To be contenders for a trophy, last year we were contenders in the Conference League but we lost in the semi-final. This year, we’re in the FA Cup and Champions League as well.
“Everything we are doing, hopefully we can keep it for a long time. This is the challenge. I know after the club won the European Cup they were for a long time not achieving the demands we are now setting in the club: to be in Europe, to be a contender for trophies.
“Everything we are doing is important, but I want more.”
Is this the strongest team you have had as Villa manager?
"Every team wants to improve and get better in each process we are doing. But we have to see it on the field. At the moment, we are getting better.
"We are under our expectations in the Premier League and we have to try and get the balance in the next weeks and months. Everything we are doing in the FA Cup and Champions League is fantastic, but I don’t want to stop.
Marco Asensio - has his winning mentality rubbed off in the dressing room?
"The experience which players have is important. They have to use their experiences to do something. The matches he played, he has shown us that his adaptation is going well.
"He is adding his quality, his wishes and his choice to be with us. Tomorrow is the next challenge we have with him and he has with us."
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