Unai Emery reveals how much he demands from Aston Villa stars: 'It will be worth it'
Aston Villa, buoyed by their Champions League win over Bayern Munich at Villa Park in midweek, play host to Manchester United and under-fire Erik ten Hag in the Premier League on Sunday
by Neil Moxley · The MirrorUnai Emery says his players must think about how to make Aston Villa successful - even when they’re asleep.
The tough taskmaster is taking his expectation levels to a new high after saying there can be no dozing around at Villa Park.
Emery is a famously driven individual. Ahead of the Champions League tie with Bayern Munich skipper John McGinn said his boss had watched him play on DVDs TWENTY times before taking the helm at Villa Park almost two years ago. That level of obsessive detail underpins everything that Emery does. He demands that his players are the best, even when they’re in the canteen, or in bed.
"Our mentality is building every day,” he said, “at Bodymoor Heath when we are meeting, training, even spending time with the players eating. We want to try and get the best individually and combine that with our style and ideas. We want to get off them the best in everything.
"The mentality is that when we are training, when we are playing, when we are at home resting, we have to focus on football for 75 per cent of our life, the players and coaches.
“It will be worth it. We are increasing our level as a team and as a club. Every player is improving and increasing their level. The players are aware of it and the demand is every day. If we relaxing one day, we are wrong.”
Asked jokingly if it was okay that his players slept for the other 25 per cent of their time, Emery added: “It’s true, you have to go to sleep thinking about football. It’s true.”
The former Sevilla boss inflicted Bayern Munich’s first loss in the group stages of the Champions League in over 40 outings in midweek when Villa pulled off a repeat scoreline of their victory in the 1982 final. Emery was the last manager to inflict that upon them seven years ago.
Sunday's opponents were the first ones he faced after walking into Villa Park almost two years ago. Villa’s rise has been astonishing since then. But their boss knows if they are to be successful in May, the hard yards have to be completed now.
He said: "I am going to repeat my message. We are not favourites to be in the top seven. We want to be contenders for it. On match day 20 in January we can see how we are doing. Each match is very important.
"I was very, very angry on Sunday how we responded on the pitch to Ipswich Town. We can draw there because Ipswich deserved more, but we want to respond to the demands our opponents are asking of us. We didn’t do on Sunday.
"Against Manchester United I think it is a huge match for us after we played against Bayern Munich. In the Premier League we are playing the best teams in the world. Manchester United have quality players and the club is like others we are playing in the Champions League.
"We will need the same atmosphere with the supporters at Villa Park like on Wednesday. I have no doubt they will be there to help and support us to transmit their energy so we can get three points.
“Manchester United is a very difficult match.”
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