Ollie Watkins' cool head helps him to best ever Premier League season

Watkins is in the form of his life after scoring 11 goals in his last 12 appearances for resurgent Villa and has already equalled his previous best tally of 14 in a Premier League season.

The 27-year-old needs six more over the remaining seven matches to become the first Villa player since Peter Withe in the 1980-81 title-winning season to hit 20 in a top flight campaign.

Emery believes he stands a good chance of reaching the figure thanks to the changes in his mindset which means the striker no longer gets too frustrated by missing chances.

The Villa boss held up last weekend’s win over Newcastle as a prime example, with Watkins hitting the post, twice being denied by goalkeeper Nick Pope and then seeing an effort chalked out for offside before eventually bagging a brace in the final half-hour.

Emery said: “This week, one of the coaches said to me: ‘Unai, did you see how when Ollie missed the early chance, he didn’t shy away from anything? He came back and was focused again for the next chance.

“That is the key. Maybe you can score, maybe you don’t, but you stay consistent. When strikers score, they are up, maybe when they don’t, they are down. But they have to try to be level.

“My message to my strikers is to think: ‘We don’t want to concede’. My message to my goalkeepers is: ‘We have to score’. That allows us to connect everyone and ensures they are thinking of the team.” In February, Watkins became the first Villa player since Paul Rideout in 1985 to score in five consecutive league matches, a mark he will hit again should he net in this afternoon’s match at Brentford.

And though the 20-goal mark which has eluded generations of Villa strikers seemed ambitious a few weeks ago, it now feels very much within his range.

“With his spirit and the way he responds in each practice and the way he faces matches, then he can (do that),” said Emery.

“And we are here to help him because I want our strikers scoring goals and being at the top of the scoring tables. I want that and I like that.

“But the most important thing for Ollie Watkins is when we are winning he is very happy and if he is scoring he is very happy.

“If he is not scoring but we are winning, he is very happy. That is the message.”

Watkins said: “I’m really enjoying it, working hard and trying to keep the momentum going.

“I’m trying to keep doing what I’m doing: scoring goals, assisting and helping the team to win and keep clean sheets.

“All around it’s going really well. It’s probably the best moment since I’ve been at the club. We’ve got seven games to go and I’m trying to score a lot more goals.”