Unai Emery has revealed he feared Aston Villa could face a relegation battle this season before the club went on to reach a Europa League final.
- Emery admitted genuine relegation fears after Villa failed to win any of their first five league games
- The Spanish manager then revealed he was “dreaming of fighting for the title” in December
- He insists Villa are “not a top-seven club” and are overachieving against better-resourced rivals
“I was worried we could be relegated”
The journey from relegation fear to Europa League final in a single season is extraordinary by any measure. Unai Emery revealed the full emotional arc of that journey in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports ahead of tonight’s Liverpool clash and his candour about the darkest early-season moments makes the subsequent achievement even more remarkable.
“At the beginning, I was worried,” Emery admitted openly. “After the first month and the first five matches Aston Villa were in the bottom. Because I know how difficult the Premier League is, I was thinking if we are not reacting, maybe we can’t escape this position.” That specific acknowledgement from a manager of Emery’s stature publicly admitting relegation was a genuine concern, reflects the extraordinary resilience required to turn the season around so comprehensively.
Villa recovered with stunning speed. Twelve wins from their next 13 league games transformed a relegation concern into a genuine title conversation and Emery revealed he allowed himself to dream during that extraordinary December run.
“When we were close with Manchester City and Arsenal, I was dreaming in that moment to fight with them for the title,” he recalled with a smile. “But of course, we couldn’t keep the same level they have. Their power is more than us: it’s clear.”
An honest self-assessment that captures the balance that has defined Emery’s management throughout.
“We are not a top-seven club”- Overachieving against the odds
Emery’s broader assessment of Aston Villa’s position in English football’s hierarchy was equally revealing and disarmingly honest. When asked about the Premier League’s traditional power structure, the Spanish manager placed Villa firmly outside the elite group and used that positioning to frame everything his squad has achieved this season as overachievement.
“For me there is a top seven,” he stated. “Newcastle is in that group. At the beginning of the season they are a top seven in front of us; we are with West Ham, Everton, Fulham, Brighton. We are the teams behind those top seven.”
That candid self-assessment delivered by a manager whose team is level on points with Liverpool and five days from a European final is one of the most compelling statements of the entire season.
His broader point about the Premier League’s competitive depth was equally astute. “Bournemouth, Brighton, Fulham, Brentford they are performing fantastic. And some teams that normally should be close to us are in the relegation zone. This is the Premier League. It’s very difficult. You must be so, so resilient when you are not performing well.”
From fifth place after five winless games to Europa League finalists defines a resilience on this Villa season more than any individual result.
Full focus on Liverpool. “If we lose, we achieve nothing”
Emery dismissed any suggestion that Istanbul might distract from tonight’s crucial Premier League fixture. His response was the clearest possible articulation of the standards he demands from himself and his squad.
“We are focusing on the match,” he stated. “The only way I know is to prepare the game with our analysis, our work in training, tactically, set pieces. The objective is to arrive at 8pm 100% thinking about the match we have.” He then delivered the line that encapsulates his entire managerial philosophy. “Of course we are going to play a final, of course we can feel it’s a very good opportunity. But we can’t lose. If we are losing, we achieve nothing.”
That specific repetition of the phrase used after the Forest second leg, “if we lose, we achieve nothing”, underlines a consistency of standards that refuses to accept any result short of the maximum as acceptable regardless of context or circumstance.
ReadAstonVilla Verdict
Emery’s admission about relegation fears will shock many, but it should inspire everyone. The distance this club has travelled between August’s bottom-of-the-table anxiety and tonight’s Champions League qualification decider is extraordinary. A manager who feared the worst and delivered the best. A squad that won 12 of 13 when it mattered most. Tonight is the opportunity to add one more defining chapter. Villa Park. Liverpool. 8pm. Deliver.
