Unai Emery saw Aston Villa miss out on the top five by goal difference at the end of May, but cases of shoddy defending and ropey away form had been a problem for most of the season. He is holding the group to account from day one this term, demanding more in these areas as a "first step forward."
‘The coach is trying to follow the same work’
Emery explained what he expected from the first away day of the campaign in West London.
*“Always, is very difficult, Brentford. Very difficult. We respect them a lot. They changed coach after a long time with the same coach, but the new coach is now trying to follow the same work they did.”*
Some massive pillars have parted ways with the Bees. Thomas Frank is now at Tottenham Hotspur after spending the best part of seven seasons in the dugout, while club captain **Christian Norgaard**is a member of the squad at Arsenal, only months after he had extended his contract with the club.
Bryan Mbeumo, who hit 20 goals last term in the Premier League, is one of the marquee men at Man United, and his partner in crime, Yoane Wissa, has been trying to pry his way out of the side.
“They have some new players, and they have some players very important for them, they left, but my expectation for tomorrow is to play a tough match.”
The Spaniard is still not letting his guard down. **Brentford**had to "get back to basics" in the second half against Nottingham Forest, who were three goals to the good before the restart. Keith Andrews and his group should be hurting and looking to put things write at the Gtech Community Stadium.
“We have to respect them. Playing away, always my experiences are being difficult in all the teams we are facing, and tomorrow, respecting them, we are going to try to get our best.”
The Villans are also wary of their weakness away from home. They have stayed undefeated at Villa Park since their 2-0 loss to **Arsenal**in August last year, keeping a clean sheet with only ten men against Newcastle United. The ambition is to maintain the standard set through the season opener.
“We are keeping clean sheets, fantastic. This is really the first step forward we will do tomorrow, and then, of course, we will need more to win the match. This is our objective. Last year, we struggled a lot of moments in the season, not being defensively strong, and this is the first, what we have to do.”
‘He has the respect of every teammate’
One player who will want to show his quality is Morgan Rogers. The 23-year-old earned the award of PFA Young Player of the Year this week, and his development has not gone unnoticed by his boss.
“He is young, but he is mature. He is a player, his development is really being fantastic for him and for us, because his quality and his capacity to play, be versatile and getting numbers is very good.”
The attacker notched eight goals and ten assists for the team last campaign in the Premier League alone, having hit the ground running ever since his arrival from **Middlesbrough**in February 2024.
“He’s one of our better players we have the squad we have now and, of course, he is very important.”
As he ages, the manager would like to see him continue to mature as a leader on and off the field.
“He is showing us he can lead playing, and he can lead even in the dressing room, the team. He has the respect of every teammate we have, and he has respect as well of all the teams we are facing.”
Rogers revealed his desire to become a part of the **England**squad for the World Cup in 2026. With more work to build on top of the foundations from the previous 18 months, his dream is very much in sight, and that can also help the Spaniard to strive for his objectives as the man in charge of the squad.
“Our level is increasing with him. We are being better and stronger. I want more from him, I want to continue working with him to try to get even better numbers. He’s very demanding as well of himself.”