Unai Emery will start his third full campaign as Aston Villa manager this weekend
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery(Image: Anna Gowthorpe/Shutterstock)
It can be easy to overlook just how far Aston Villa have come under Unai Emery now that expectations have risen.
Just 12 months ago, Villa were still basking in the tremendous achievement of qualifying for the Champions League, which at the time helped soften the disappointment of a lacklustre two-legged performance against Olympiacos in the semi-finals of the Conference League.
Now, most Villa fans wouldn’t settle for hitting just one target while missing the other. A trophy and Champions League qualification are the two main objectives — both of which can be achieved by winning the Europa League.
It certainly helps that Emery has won the competition four times in his career, including three consecutive triumphs while managing Sevilla.
Although Villa were, on paper, the strongest side in the Conference League two seasons ago, Emery’s team proved last season they can go head-to-head with Europe’s elite, reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Few expected Villa to finish fourth in 2023/24, and even fewer tipped them to go far on their return to UEFA’s top-tier competition. Most assumed they would only get out of the league phase at best.
In contrast, Villa were widely expected to win the Conference League and at least reach the FA Cup final last season, especially after being drawn against Crystal Palace — a team with a solid record against Emery's side but who still finished in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Even the final-day clash at Old Trafford was considered a formality by most outsiders, though the more pessimistic Villa fans likely feared the worst.
Emery’s credentials as a proven winner and his pedigree in European competition aren’t under threat next season — but his ability to deliver tangible success at Villa will be scrutinised.
Now is the time for Villa to deliver. Under Emery, they have all the right ingredients — from the coaching staff to the playing squad. It’s not a case of “now or never,” but the pressure will undoubtedly build on the club’s ability to finally get over the line.
Emery appeared to find the perfect squad-building formula in February, following the loan signings of Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio, and Axel Disasi, which complemented the earlier permanent additions of Andres Garcia and Donyell Malen.
Those reinforcements gave Emery greater flexibility, helped him manage games more effectively, and allowed better player rotation. As a result, the squad suffered very few injuries from the end of the January window through to the season’s close.
With the time to deliver now upon them, Emery will be drilling it into his group to take next season’s opportunity with both hands and encourage them to embrace the pressure.
"I don't want to waste my time here, that is my message," said Emery earlier this year. "We want to achieve the objectives and one of them is to play in the Champions League.
"It is not about playing there only because of some circumstances - I want us to stay there for a long time. "You have to be resilient. We want to be strong in the idea in our mind and create a strong mentality to always break barriers."
There’s no shortage of candidates, but Matty Cash probably summed up the transformational impact Emery has made best.
“In the last four years since I joined, the club has just gone through the roof, the quality in every single department has gone up and the club has not got a ceiling,” the 27-year-old defender explained.
“I think it can go all the way to the top. Playing Champions League football has been a building block to get here and the manager has been a big part of that. It is great to be here and in four years we have come a long way.”
Emery’s “next dream” is indeed to win that trophy with Villa, something he spoke about after celebrating his two-year anniversary at the club back in late October.
“Hopefully we will improve more and more,” said the Villa manager. “We were starting trying to be better in each moment. And we achieved some objectives quickly, but there is still a lot of work to do.
“It’s very important to work to keep it. This is the target with the players, coaches, owners and myself. But we have to enjoy what we are doing. I’ve enjoyed it a lot in the first two years.
“My first objective was to play in Europe. My second dream was to win a trophy and that’s what I have now. We are looking forward to continuing to improve.”
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