Aston Villa stars disagree with Unai Emery amid push for Champions League chance
Unai Emery won’t like it - but Aston Villa players are having Champions League dreams.
Villa's boss has been keen to play down any suggestion that his club might gate-crash the top four party at the end of this season. He has been asked repeatedly about the possibility - especially following the 15-game winning streak at Villa Park.
But he refuses to heap any unnecessary pressure on his squad saying: “We are contenders - but there are also seven others.”
However, it appears that while the Spanish boss may be keen to underplay the situation, some of his first-teamers aren't. Right-back Matty Cash said that Emery's attention to detail marks him down as a special managerial talent. And he admitted that it was a long way in the future - but it has become something to aim for.
He said: “As a group, we've learned a lot from the manager. The attention to detail in his meetings is incredible and we have a lot of long ones, but it's working.
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“The manager has talked to us about being confident, in terms of we're a team that is here to stay, and we are not here by luck. We're in the top positions because we deserve to be there. We are striving to be better than we were last year when we qualified for Europe.
“I'm sure if we do that then we'll finish in the European positions again - or the Champions League. It's a long way away. We've all got dreams that we want to achieve, but we just have to focus on the game ahead.“
Matty Cash has hailed Emery's impact (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)Emery swapped and changed his squad for last Thursday’s draw against Zrinjski Mostar - eight of the players who started the victory over Arsenal were omitted from the starting line-up in Bosnia.
Villa are halfway through a schedule that sees them play ten games in five weeks before the New Year. But they are coping with the twin pressures, so far. Home-grown talent Jacob Ramsey echoed Cash's feelings, insisting that the Champions League is a justifiable target.
He said: “Right now, based on how we're playing and the results we're getting - especially at home, our aim should be the top four. If we can transfer our home form into the away fixtures, I don't see why we can't do that.
Jacob Ramsey believes Villa could finish in the top four this season (Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)“There are a lot of teams fighting for those Champions League spots and we've also got the Europa Conference League to focus on and hopefully we can reach the later stages of that competition, too.“
Emery will be forced to make changes for today’s trip to the GTech Community Stadium. While his first-choice side has been largely consistent, he has been hit with suspension for two key performers.
Douglas Luiz and Lucas Digne have been banned after picking up five bookings. That leaves space for Alex Moreno, fit following a lengthy injury lay-off, to resume duties at left-back while Ramsey should deputise for the Brazil international.
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