Unai Emery urges Aston Villa players to learn from FA Cup embarrassment
Unai Emery has warned there is no “magic” to quickly strengthen Villa’s mentality as he urges players to learn from Sunday’s FA Cup embarrassment against Stevenage.
The 2-1 defeat was made more shocking by the fact Villa have been much improved since Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in the dugout, taking 10 points from his first five Premier League matches in charge.
But Emery believes the stunning collapse is evidence of the hard work which still lies ahead.
He said: “It is not going to be easy. I am not magical. I cannot just come here and change everything. We have to go through the process.
“At the beginning, when a new coach comes in, the first reaction (for players) is to be excited, with everything giving all they can. But it is difficult to keep the consistency.
“The process has been the same at other teams. If I am here for two or three years, we really can talk about the process was being consistent, demanding and achieving each moment.”
Villa are quickly back into Premier League action when they host Leeds on Friday.
Emery said: “We got 10 points out of 15 in the league but the last match we played against Wolves I was very upset because we were starting, so quickly again, not to do the tactical things I want.
“Sunday was completely different. We lost and we should be so sorry for our supporters.
“But it can happen when you have chances and don’t score. We were not clinical. It was not anything tactical, or because we weren’t focused for 90 minutes. No, it was because that is what can happen when you have chances and don’t take them.”
