EMERY HAS NO EXCUSES
UNAI Emery says Aston Villa are reaping the rewards of his ‘no excuse’ culture.
The Spaniard laid down the ground rules for this campaign at the start of the season, saying Villa’s squad was in it together.
And that mantra has been tested with a string of long-term injuries hitting the club.
But Emery (below) has never hidden behind injuries to the likes of Tyrone mings, Emi Buendia or Boubacar Kamara, all of whom have been subjected to lengthy lay-offs because of knee ligament problems.
He has always trumpeted the collective and he says this is now transmitting itself to his squad and Villa’s supporters.
He said: “We are building a winning mentality together at this club, the fans and team.
“As tempting as it can be to think of injuries and setbacks as an excuse, we have a ‘no excuse’ culture at this club: We must be ready to win.
“We cannot use, or find, things through excuses. That would be a mistake.
“We have injuries. We have moments for good and bad and we’re going to face them with the players we have in this squad. I believe in every player. Our squad has the strength in the group itself and this team remains convinced and ambitious, no matter what happens or who plays.”
Emery tried to play down the significance of this week at Villa Park.
But if Villa beat Luton – and they’ve lost just once in their last seven league fixtures away from Villa Park – and overcome Tottenham next week, they’ll enjoy an eight-point advantage over Ange Postecoglou’s men with 10 games to go. With a Europa Conference League tie away to Ajax on Thursday night, these are the most exciting times for a generation in
B6.
But Emery wasrefusing to get carried away.
He said: “That is not my mentality. I don’t ususally speak about ‘ifs.’ We have to play. ‘If we were successful against Newcastle and manchester United’.
“But we weren’t. So, we have to accept and adapt to each moment.
“And we have to enjoy each moment, even when we lose.
“my mentality is to send the same message to the supporters: Be excited. It’s going to be difficult, we have to focus. We have to work.
“Luton is, for me, a very difficult game.”