Competitive Emi Buendia sets the example for Aston Villa pals
Steven Gerrard reckons ‘angry’ Emi Buendia is setting the example to his Villa team-mates with his desire to win every day.
The boss is keen for every player to share the playmaker’s mentality after comparing his competitive edge to that of former Liverpool colleague Javier Mascherano.
Buendia is in buoyant mood after capping an impressive January in the Premier League by making his first senior appearance for Argentina last week.
Gerrard said: “He’s smiling but he is still angry in training. That’s because he’s a little competitor, he is tenacious, but I don’t mind all of that.
“I love someone who, be it in one v one or two by twos or three by threes it doesn’t matter, they treat it like it’s the World Cup final.
“They want to win, it doesn’t matter what it is, they want to be competitive. It’s in their DNA. They are winners.
“He reminds me of Mascherano. The Argentinians are really competitive. They want to win everything.
“I think if you get in those habits on a daily basis it comes out in the games. That’s the mentality I want in all my players. If we can get everyone in the same place as Emi, controlled, we will be alright.”
Buendia this week admitted to finally feeling settled at Villa following his £33million club-record move from Norwich last summer.
Gerrard is keen for him to continue his excellent form, starting with tonight’s visit of Leeds as Villa finally return to action after a two-and-a-half-week break.
He said: “With Emi it was a case of ‘this is what we will do for you’ this is the support we give and the environment we create and then it’s over to you.
“That’s what you do, give them a place where they can thrive and be the best versions of themselves.
“We’re seeing signs of that no it’s up to Emi to keep in a consistent place and try and finish the season as strong as he can. He seems to be really enjoying our style and how we play.”
Villa play four of the next five fixtures against teams below them in the table, a run which would appear to offer the chance to push on, potentially toward the European places. Yet Gerrard yesterday refused to be drawn on identifying a specific target for the rest of the campaign.
“I think that’s for other people to talk about,” he said. “I’ve said we’ve got internal targets we discuss on a daily basis and what we’re trying to strive for.
“I’ve always spoken about Europe since I’ve come in as a big picture target. For us, it’s very much a case of trying to find our rhythm and our consistency.
“We want to finish as high up as we can in the table. We want to push and be ambitious. I’m not trying to take any pressure away, we understand that at a club like Villa there’s always going to be pressure, but for me it’s a case of each challenge as it comes.
“We’ve got a run of fixtures now that we’re looking forward to, we want to get in a rhythm. We want to win as many as we can and it’s something we’ll analyse from month to month.”
Leon Bailey is back full training after two months out with a muscle injury but unlikely to feature before the visit of Watford on Saturday week. Fellow winger Bertrand Traore returns to the UK tomorrow following his exploits with Burkina Faso in the Africa Cup of Nations. Trezeguet has joined Istanbul Basaksehir for the rest of the season.
