Unai Emery warns against wasting his time as Villa aims for continued success, while Matty Cash praises the incredible atmosphere during their win over Bayern Munich.
Unai Emery Issues’ Waste My Time’ Warning for Villa
Unai Emery stresses that Aston Villa must keep pushing to “break barriers” as they aim to take a crucial step toward Champions League knockout qualification on Tuesday.
Villa welcome Bologna to Villa Park at 8 pm, aiming for a third consecutive win after victories over BSC Young Boys and Bayern Munich. They also head into the match unbeaten in their last nine games across all competitions, following a 3-1 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage that lifted them into the top four.
“We love football, we love our work and to be successful,” Emery said in his press conference. “We want to achieve individually and collectively our objectives. One of them, of course, is to play in the Champions League. We are there in this moment but I want to keep it for a long time. It is difficult.
“Maybe sometimes you can have some problems but we have to be resilient in case they are coming. We have to be strong in our idea and in our mind, to create a strong mentality to try to break barriers always.”
Emery will mark his second anniversary as Villa manager on Thursday, but his focus remains on how he can support the club’s continued growth following its rapid progress under his leadership over the past 24 months.
“The most important thing is for us how we are increasing our demands and with those getting the objectives we are facing each year,” he outlined. “Two years ago, we avoided a risk of relegation and even had time to get a position in the Conference League, which was amazing in the first seven months we had here.
“Last year, we continued our process, and we increased a lot our demands, getting the Champions League. The challenge is to get better every day, and now, how can we keep the same level we have now for a long time? That’s the most difficult thing.
“When you achieve an objective at a high level, how can you be demanding and successful in keeping it? That’s the idea I have now. The club is in the same way.
“The players are with the same message I am giving you here. The words I use repeatedly since I arrived here to now is I don’t want to waste my time here.
“That’s the message for everyone. I don’t want you to waste your time here. We are professionals and we can get our best objectives individually and collectively.
“We want to keep the level we have now, which is the Champions League, and add something more like being a contender for a trophy.”
Matty Cash Impressed by Atmosphere During Villa vs Bayern
Unai Emery’s team is gearing up for another Champions League group stage match this week, with Italian club Bologna visiting Villa Park on Tuesday night.
After defeating Bayern Munich at Villa Park, there is growing optimism that the stadium can serve as a fortress for the Villans in the Champions League this season.
Cash admits he’s expecting a loud atmosphere at Villa Park and revealed that during the Bayern Munich match, the noise was so intense he couldn’t hear himself speak.
“I think it’ll be loud,” he said at a press conference about the Bologna game.
“Bayern was incredible. I was sat on the bench, and it was so loud I couldn’t hear myself talk.
“I haven’t made my Champions League debut yet. Hopefully, it comes tomorrow.”
Bologna will travel to Villa Park following a 2-2 draw at Genoa in Serie A.
Their most recent Champions League match was also in England, where they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield.
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