Emery delighted with FAN-tastic response!
LET’S go!” roared an ecstatic Emi Martinez as he headed back into the dressing room after Villa had come from behind to win away in the Premier League for the first time in almost 18 months.
Their dogged 2-1 victory at Brighton made it two out of two in the league for new head coach Unai Emery, who paid tribute to his resolute players and the thousands who packed the away end at the Amex Stadium.
“Hard workers, focused and committed,” said the Spaniard. “Proud of the players and proud of our loyal fans. What an amazing feeling! Much more to do, much more to improve. UTV.”
Here are the talking points after Danny Ings’ match-winning double pushed Villa to within a point of midtable.
n Emery is fans’ first
He might prefer a subtle punch in the air and to head straight in after shaking the opposition manager’s hand, opting not to head over to the away end, but, in every interview he gives, he always pays tribute to the supporters.
“They were here and they are helping,” Emery told reporters in the press room. “I’m so proud of our supporters. They are so important to us. We can’t transmit our energy for our job without them. We need them and their wishes help us.”
He knows just how important the fans are to what he wants to achieve and, since his arrival, they have been right behind him. You sense Emery just ‘gets’ it.
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Excited by what’s to come
“He’s only been with us a short time but we’ve come a long way already,” was Ings’ verdict on Emery’s impact.
Villa have scored seven times in his three games at the helm and, other than individual errors, also look solid at the back with Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings both excellent again on Sunday as they racked up 17 clearances between them.
I am told the players are loving the manager’s new approach. Even the long video analysis meetings have been given rave reviews.
Tactically, Villa look so much better as well. Players are taking their time in possession, picking the right passes and, if the pass isn’t on, Emery wants them to keep the ball and to maintain pressure.
The Birmingham Mail asked Emery if the players are enjoying playing for him, to which he replied: “Yes! The first step was to be competitive because I know at home they were playing well and being competitive.
“My challenge to them was to win away and we played very well in Manchester on Thursday but in the last minutes we didn’t keep our mentality like we wanted and I want to create.
“But, today, our mentality was different. We were strong defensively and had to be. We were together and we had to be so focused on set-pieces from corners. We had some players out but, really, the job was fantastic.”
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Clinical Ings proves his class
Ings has bagged five goals in his eight league starts. His spot-kick was cool but his second was deft as he chopped past Lewis Dunk and went for placement over power as the ball nestled in the net off Levi Colwill.
Emery was buzzing with his striker afterwards and, with Ollie Watkins struck down by illness, tweaked his system to play to Ings’ strengths.
“I am trying to put each player in their best position and, against Brighton, we were speaking about the best position for Ings,” he said. “I think he’s a striker and he needs to be between the centre-back and to have players to pass to him and to assist him. I think the players understood perfectly.”
Ings’ numbers aren’t too shabby given the fact he has played second fiddle to Watkins more often than not. The £30 million signing from Southampton has 20 direct goal involvements (13 goals, seven assists) from his 47 appearances in claret and blue.
n The defenders’ union
Villa’s backline of Martinez, Matty Cash, Konsa, Mings and late sub Ludwig Augustinsson embraced each other to celebrate their second-half shutout.
Ings said of the togetherness among the defenders: “You’ve got to defend for your lives and we did that extremely well. You can just see the confidence that’s growing in the team now and everyone’s fighting for each other.”