Aston Villa appointed Unai Emery as Steven Gerrard’s successor in October.
The Villans were in 17th spot when the Spaniard arrived at Villa Park and they are now sixth in the table, level on points with fifth placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Emery has given an interview to AS, where the manager was asked how he was able to get the best out of his players at Aston Villa, even though the majority of them were not his signings.
“All players can be improved. And they can also get worse, mind you [laughs],” he said.
“Players must find answers to what you give them. My background as a coach should bring them things. My obligation is to try to improve them. The best reward for a coach is that you notice a collective and individual improvement in your players. My selfish goal is to make them better so I can win.”
With regards to Aston Villa’s rise in the table under his orders, Emery explained: “If you can spend six months on something instead of three years, better [laughs]. These months we have gone at a cruising speed due to the needs.
Aston Villa were knocked out of the EFL Cup and the FA Cup by Manchester United and Stevenage respectively. They are in contention to qualify for the European competition next season.
When asked if the Champions League can be Aston Villa’s realistic goal, Emery revealed his ambitions for the club.
“The goal I have set for myself is twofold: try to win a trophy and try to play in Europe with Aston Villa,” he added.
“We lost the two cup competitions that we competed for this season, also because at that time we gave a lot of priority to the league, but the trophies are inside my head. The league has allowed us to advance certain processes. But I am very cautious. We have had a very good part, but the most difficult part is yet to come.
“My conversation with the players and the club is the same: that in three years we will have the hopes we have today. If we are here in three years, it will mean that we mark a regularity in time and that things are going well. My demand is not that we do well now, my demand is that we be the same in three years.”
Emery spent 18 months at Arsenal between 2018 and 2019. He wants to use his spell at the Emirates to help Aston Villa.
“Arsenal had a complete and very beautiful season. We were fighting until the last game to finish in the top four and we lost the Europa League final against Chelsea. We stayed close to the targets, which I now want to translate at Aston Villa,” the Villans manager stressed.
