Emery will not ´waste time´ as he eyes silverware with Villa

Unai Emery insists Aston Villa must continue striving to “break barriers” as the club look to take a big step towards qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages.

Emery’s side welcome Bologna to Villa Park on Tuesday, aiming to maintain their perfect record in the competition so far.

They also come into the encounter unbeaten in nine games in all competitions after defeating Fulham 3-1 in the Premier League, a result that propelled them into the top four.

Emery is looking to pick up his 25th Champions League win, and would become the fifth Spanish manager to reach that total after Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benitez, Vicente del Bosque and Luis Enrique.

But aside from personal accolades, Emery has his eyes set on helping the Villans become regular contenders for silverware during his time at the helm.

“I don’t want to waste my time here, that is my message,” said Emery. “We want to achieve the objectives and one of them is to play in the Champions League.

“It is not about playing there only because of some circumstances – I want us to stay there for a long time.

“You have to be resilient. We want to be strong in the idea in our mind and create a strong mentality to always break barriers.”

Should Villa beat the Serie A side, they will also equal their longest streak of victories in the European Cup or Champions League, last earning three consecutive wins between September and October 1981.

Tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/qcAnqakIVp

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 21, 2024

Emery will celebrate his second anniversary as Villa manager on Thursday but is only looking at how he can help the club continue to grow after their meteoric rise under his stewardship in the last 24 months.

“The most important thing is for us how we are increasing our demands and with those getting the objectives we are facing each year,” he outlined.

“Two years ago we avoided a risk of relegation and even had time to get a position in the Conference League, which was amazing in the first seven months we had here.

“Last year we continued our process, and we increased a lot our demands, getting the Champions League.

“The challenge is to get better every day, and now how can we keep the same level we have now for a long time? That’s the most difficult thing.

“When you achieve an objective at a high level, how can you be demanding and successful in keeping it? That’s the idea I have now. The club is in the same way.

“The players are with the same message I am giving you here. The words I use repeatedly since I arrived here to now is I don’t want to waste my time here.

“That’s the message for everyone. I don’t want you to waste your time here. We are professionals, and we can get our best objectives individually and collectively.

“We want to keep the level we have now, which is the Champions League, and add something more like being a contender for a trophy.”

Tuesday’s fixture against Bologna will be the first time the two sides have faced each other in any competition, though Villa have struggled against teams from Italy.

They have lost four of their six major European games against Italian sides, with the two wins both coming at home against Inter in 1990 and 1994 in the UEFA Cup.