Aaron Danks sleeping easy after big Aston Villa win
Aaron Danks admits sleep has been easier to come by this week following Villa’s 4-0 thrashing of Brentford.
The first-team coach led Villa to their biggest win of the season after being thrown in at the deep end following Steven Gerrard’s sacking.
Danks, who will today take charge of Villa for the second and final time at Newcastle ahead of new head coach Unai Emery’s arrival next week, claims acclimatising to a considerably increased workload took some time.
He said: “I have to say the first few nights I didn’t sleep well, I was getting two or three hours a night.
“But the last week I’ve slept like an absolute baby and the minute my head hits the pillow I’m out. Then I bounce out of bed in the morning.
“I was absolutely shattered (after Brentford). After I’d done the press a lot of the staff had got together to have a drink and a bite of food. A lot of friends and family came to join us and we were in a room together for an hour or two, which was really nice.
“My parents were in there, my family were in there and my staff and their families were in there. It was a nice moment reflecting on it all, but personally I was absolutely shattered.”
Danks has been determined to make the most of every moment at the helm, though he and the rest of the Villa coaching staff face an uncertain future with Emery expected to bring an extensive backroom team to the Midlands.
Asked whether the experience of the past week had whetted his own appetite to one day move into management, Danks replied: “You are probably better asking me that question in five or six days’ time, when I have had chance to reflect.
“What is has reinforced is I love being around players, around teams and in a high performance environment. What gets me out of bed in the morning is trying to get the best out of people.
“That is not just players but people around me. I love that side of it. Where my career goes? I don’t know. I have never worked that way. From my start all the way through my coaching has been the next step and challenge as it comes.
“I have a growth mindset where I want to get better, I want to improve and constantly learn. Where it takes me on that journey, who knows? In the short-term it is just keep going and hopefully I will have a bit of time to reflect over the coming weeks.”
