Qudus SalihuAston Villa manager Unai Emery spoke to the press ahead of his side’s trip to Crystal Palace
Unai Emery sat down with the media ahead of Aston Villa’s clash against Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
Villa are targeting successive league victories after beating Chelsea 2-1 last weekend. Here is every word Emery said in his pre-match press conference…
Team news?
“We are training this afternoon and after that we will travel to Crystal Palace. We will see. We did a big effort against Chelsea, physically and mentally as well.
“We have to recover physically and our energy. It is going to be very important tomorrow to recover and focusing on this match.
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Is this a deeper squad than last season?
“We will see it. Our idea always is to try to improve. Players can add something different to us, but we have to build the structure again.
“We have to improve tactically and individually in our way for the next few weeks. Tomorrow is also a very good test about how we can improve and get better.
“We are being demanding because it is not enough how we are doing. We have in front of us lots of challenges.”
How important is versatility in the backline?
“Lamare Bogarde helped us at the start of the season when we needed it. He is doing a very great job, always, and he did the same on Saturday against Chelsea. His versatility is very important.
“We are progressing with some players who have been injured. Axel Disasi can play tomorrow. Tyrone Mings, we will see how he is feeling. Konsa, after he came back, he feels good. Pau is close to adding to us this week or maybe next week.
“When we are again recovering some players, we can feel again strong like we have to be. We are conceding a lot of goals and we are not being strong defensively like we have been in our best moments.
“In case we are not doing it, it is going to be very hard to achieve our objective.”
How important is it to qualify for Europe again this season?
“There are still matches to play. It depends. If we hadn’t beaten Chelsea it would have been completely different. It is the same that we can be a contender to be in Europe next year – it depends how we are responding.
“Now the league is progressively passing and there are less matches to play. We have to recover the points we lost. But in case we are not getting points, it would be more difficult.
“We are positive and trying to build a strong structure tactically and mentally with the players we added in the last transfer window.
“We will need time to recover players from injuries. Each day, each match is a test and a big challenge for us. We can’t waste time.”
What do you make of Crystal Palace?
“They are performing very well. They started at the beginning not getting good results, but then they got better. We have played them twice at Villa Park, losing and drawing.
“They are performing overall very well in the league. Maybe even better away. At home they have lost some matches, but maybe deserved more. We analysed and watched.
“Tactically it is difficult to stop them because their structure is so strong. Individually they have strong players and they win duels. Their goalkeeper is playing fantastic.
“I respect them a lot and their coach a lot. Playing away in the Premier League is always very difficult. We have our own challenge to compete better away. Tomorrow I am excited and I want to see how we respond.”
How up to speed are Rashford and Asensio?
“Get balance. This is the most important thing. We have to use the squad intelligently.”
How many points will you need to get into the Champions League?
“I am not analysing it, only the match tomorrow.”
Do you expect Mings and Rogers to train today?
“His (Rogers’) wish is always to play even when he was telling me on Saturday he was good. He was telling me he could continue.
“He is important. The idea is to have substitutes performing well. One of them is Rogers. In case he is not available, we can use other players.”
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