Unai Emery makes Aston Villa ambitions clear: "I don't want to waste my time"

Unai Emery marked his second anniversary at Villa Park and roared: “I want to stay in the .’

The Spaniard has told his players that reaching the competition just once is not enough, and he is demanding more success to make it happen. Emery has overseen a transformation in B6 that has been little short of remarkable.

When departed, the club was fighting to stay out of the relegation zone—only to begin a remarkable journey that culminated last term in a fourth-placed finish. Now, with a victory over Bologna tonight, the modelling suggests they will need just one more triumph from their group matches to reach the knock-out stage.

Emery says he has no intention of stopping there. He said: “When you achieve high-level objectives, the question is: ‘How can you keep them?’ That’s my idea now. The club feels the same way.

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“I’ve told the players the same message that I’m telling you: I don’t want to waste my time here. I don’t want the players to waste their time here.

“We are professionals and we want to keep the level we have now, the Champions League - and add something more, like a trophy.

“I have my own experiences in Europe. We are adapting quickly and we are showing our capacity to adapt to the competition. We can believe that we can keep doing it.

“We love our football, we love our work, and we want to be successful. One of those competitions is the Champions League. I want to be in it for a long time - and it is difficult.

“Sometimes you can have problems but we need some resilience. To be strong and break down those barriers. And hopefully, we will play Bologna, showing we can compete.”

Villa defender Matty Cash is expected to take his bow in the competition tonight, having missed out on the opening two victories over Young Boys and . He signed for the club four years ago and admits that with Emery in charge, Villa have become a serious proposition.

He said: “I probably didn’t expect to be here, if I’m honest. Since I joined, in terms of quality, the club has gone through the roof. Every department has improved.

“It hasn’t got a ceiling. It can go all the way to the top - and the manager is a big part of it. Our squad is so great in all positions. We’re strong and we’ll need that with the Premier League, Champions League and all the other competitions.

“The key has been consistency in the league. We weren’t with the last few managers - that’s no disrespect - but now the demands on you to perform and win are huge.

“He goes through every detail. We’ve got a 90-minute meeting and that will ensure we. Are all ready. It all ties into why we’re here. We want to keep winning and performing.”

“We need to get to fourth position again at least - then when we are here we can enjoy it, play with freedom and express ourselves.”

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