Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery(Image: Ryan Browne/Shutterstock)
Unai Emery admits he did not expect the level of change that has taken place at Aston Villa this summer and hopes supporters will be patient with the club’s new signings.
Villa have lost Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne, Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa so far this summer, while Ollie Watkins and Emi Martínez have also been linked with moves away from the club.
Despite the level of change, Emery is optimistic about the campaign ahead as Villa prepare for another Champions League campaign.
Asked if he expected the amount of change, Emery said: “Definitely not expecting the changes we were doing, but last year when we finished sixth and played PSG in the quarter-finals, we didn’t have a lot of movement around players.
“This year is completely different. Maybe it was winning the Europa League or finishing fourth, but more or less both seasons were similar in performance.
“This year they have come for our players, but I accept it and we have to be positive again.
“We will need time, but we are involved in everything, trying to be demanding doing things. We are also trying to be demanding to join players in the squad and keep the performance.
“The fans were patient when we arrived here. We changed the style and idea. We needed to teach the supporters about the new way we wanted to build.
“We want to keep the same idea and objective and ambition with the new players. We have to be patient with the new players. If we need time to get it then we have to be patient.”
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