He may kick every ball on the touchline but, behind closed doors, Aston Villa’s players are used to him being the calmest person in the room, routinely more demanding after victory than defeat. John McGinn tells a story in which the Villa manager, early in his now almost four-year tenure, broke character and lost his cool during a half-time interval not owing to a lukewarm performance but because he witnessed his captain tearing into teammates. In Emery’s eyes, it was McGinn expending unnecessary energy rather than seeking solutions.
Emery, McGinn and Villa have been here before. Just last season, in fact; at this point, they were pointless in the Premier Leagueand still another 157 minutes from registering their first goal. So in one sense Villa, who shook off a slow start to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, are ahead of schedule.
Villa’s goalless draw at Hull on Saturday was not the most absorbing display but there were enough green shoots to trust Emery when he says he is confident they can again exceed expectations. It is hard to disbelieve a man with Emery’s record, having overseen the most successful era in the club’s recent history. We set our standards high with the players to be there and we are.
Now is the moment to remember how we got here and the way we did. Now it is a different moment and chapter.” In these moments, Emery tends to double down on his methods. Last season they did not taste victory until their seventh game of the season in all competitions, McGinn scoring the only goal in a Europa League win against Bologna.
Before that game, players assembled around 11.30am for the kind of opposition analysis meeting to which they have grown accustomed, so much so McGinn says they now walk in like robots. Emery lasers in on players’ positioning and tactical details. Jhon Durán, now on loan at Benfica from Al-Nassr after spells at Fenerbahce and Zenit St Petersburg, is famously the only player to have requested to leave mid-meeting.
Villa face Club Brugge on Tuesday for the fourth time in the past two years, hoping Europe will again ignite their season. After that victory against Bologna last September, Villa embarked on an extraordinary run of 17 wins in 19 matches. Half of the 14 players involved in that game have departed but one of those who did feature, Emiliano Buendía, is hopeful that Emery’s new-look squad can put together a similar run.
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