Unai Emery has urged his players to regain their focus and sharpen their concentration following their recent Champions League victory. This call to action comes in the wake of Aston Villa’s disappointing and lackluster performance against Manchester United, which contrasted sharply with the high of their memorable and hard-fought win over Bayern Munich earlier this month. Emery emphasized the need for his squad to maintain consistency and avoid complacency, recognizing that the gap in performance between the two matches highlighted the challenges of staying fully focused and performing at their best week in and week out.
Villa faces Bournemouth today, aiming for their sixth league victory of the year and a third straight triumph in all competitions after beating Fulham and Bologna during the post-October international break. Despite winning nine of their first 12 matches, Emery is pushing for greater consistency from his team after being frustrated with their performances before and after the Bayern victory.
“This is our challenge and my objective: try to play with consistency,” Emery explained. “I try to play with consistency in the Champions League. This is the demand I am trying to impose on myself and with the club and players. The Premier League is the most important thing for us this season because it’s through it [qualifying for Europe]. Each match is the reason. We are enjoying and being successful in the Champions League but the most important match is against Bournemouth.
“We have some examples before when we weren’t playing more or less with our idea or our style or being demanding as we usually are. There was Ipswich and other matches we can remember. My method is always try to be positive, improve, analyse deeply each match, and to correct it. Individually, collectively, and even criticising myself so I respond when I am not doing well.
“After Ipswich, we beat Bayern and drew with Man United. Against Man United, we played a little bit tired, maybe in some things – mentally, energy, even maybe physically. But we played as I want. Even when we lost against Arsenal at home, we played like I want. At Ipswich, it was different. We didn’t play there like I want. But we corrected it, and the players responded very well. We played very well in the next games, and then, after the international break, we beat Fulham and Bologna.
“Now my concern is how we are going to respond [vs Bournemouth] after those matches, playing as to the demands I have. This is the objective I have: full energy, focus 100 percent, try to play each one physically strongly, and try to play imposing our style on them while respecting them.
“Bournemouth are playing very well, very competitive. They lost 3-0 to Liverpool but they had one offside goal, the best chances, a lot of fouls and corners, hit the bar. This is the team we are going to face. Very difficult, and if we play in the same way as the last matches, we can be positive. But we have to be respectful and we have to be at 100pc in every Premier League game.”
Emery added: “I feel the same as when we started the season. We are not a contender or favorite to be in the top seven. The favorites are clearly there. You know those teams. Of course, if we are being consistent, being demanding, we are more or less showing it, we can get in the top seven, top five and top four.
“Top three will be more difficult because Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are strong. But I respect Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle, and Man United. Those teams are favorites and contenders to be in the top seven – but we are there.”
Get the Latest Scores! Check out today’s football headlines and updates to stay informed.
Check Updates
