Aston Villa manager Unai Emery admitted that he doesn’t want his squad to follow in the footsteps of one Premier League-winning club however, the Spaniard has already ensured that’s unlikely to happen.
Aston Villa are surely one of the most envied clubs in the Premier League at this moment, sitting in fourth place, still fighting for European silverware and having tied down their much-loved manager, Unai Emery.
The Spaniard has raised the bar in all areas at the club, seeing the Villans catapult away from the mediocrity they were forced to become accustomed to after just 18 months in charge.
At the point of the former Arsenal boss’ arrival, Villa sat down in 17th under Steven Gerrard, showing little sign of progression with the possibility of relegation staring them in the face.
Now a club fighting in Europe and firmly contending for Champions League qualification next season, the lows of past standards have been abolished thanks to Emery, who is gunning for more in Birmingham.
Why Unai Emery doesn’t want Aston Villa to be like Leicester City
Having transformed Villa less than two years into his reign, there is no sign of stopping for the 52-year-old, who has now insisted that he wants his team to continue their progression.
In a fascinating interview with beIN SPORTS Asia, Emery opened up on his targets for his side, naming Leicester City’s Premier League win as something he wouldn’t want to emulate for one reason.
“I want to increase our level, increase our development with the players, with the club, with as well, our possibilities to get more money, to be closer to the other teams fighting for the Premier League.
“I am ambitious – realistic – but ambitious, sometimes it’s difficult to share the ambitious and the realistic, but sometimes you have to break something.
“Leicester won the Premier League, I want to be more consistent than to win one year and then not be consistent for the next year. I prefer to increase, getting better progressively and of course, being ambitious but trying to do each step being solid.”
Unai Emery has shown that Aston Villa are the opposite of Leicester City
While Leicester City’s Premier League win in the 2015/16 campaign was remarkable and deserved, the Foxes quickly showed that their capacity had expired after that season.
The now-Championship side finished 12th before winning the league, then finished 14th the season after being crowned champions, eventually being relegated to the second flight last campaign.
Leicester dropped dramatically after winning the league, while Villa are rising to become contenders rather than to see their success suddenly spike.
Last term, Villa finished seventh and this season will finish either fourth or fifth, building on the work Emery’s side produced last year.
As the Spaniard identified, Villa’s primary goal is to progressively get better, something they have achieved and look to continue to do and most prominently, something Leicester never did.
It’s an exciting time for Aston Villa, whose future is in safe hands with Emery, a manager who has shown he can lead his squad to the top.
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