Unai Emery eager to write own piece of Aston Villa history ahead of European return

Photographs of the 1982 European Cup triumph adorn the walls of the club’s training ground, an achievement of which has often in the four decades since appeared to weigh heavy on some of the Spaniard’s predecessors.

Yet for Emery, eager to write his own celebrated chapter in Villa’s history, they serve only as inspiration.

“Always when I am going in my office I am passing this. It is good to remember it,” he says. “This is the history of Aston Villa and it is amazing.

“We want to write a new history now in our way. Hopefully we can enjoy and feel something important here.”

A key step on that journey awaits on Wednesday night in Edinburgh, when Villa take on Hibernian in the first leg of the Europa Conference League play-off round, their first European tie for 13 years.

The club’s longest absence from European competition since making their UEFA Cup debut against Antwerp in 1975 was ended by a remarkable, Emery-inspired charge up the Premier League table during the second half of last season.

Their standing as a Premier League club, in a tournament established primarily to serve the continent’s smaller leagues, automatically puts them among the favourites to be in Athens lifting the trophy next May. That’s even before you factor in the presence of Emery, a four-time Europa League winner who is embarking on his 16th straight season managing in European competition.

Yet as the 51-year-old is at pains to point out, you don’t achieve such a record by getting ahead of yourself. The ambition is clear but his concentration, for now, is purely on Hibs.

“I want to really focus on each moment and enjoy each moment and now the moment is to play against Hibernian,” he explained.

“We play two matches against them and we want to enjoy it. Of course, the objective is to get into the group stage but not thinking too far ahead.

“We are going to create something here, we are going to build something here, we are going to take time with our supporters, that is the only way I want.”

Emery cannot argue against the fact Villa go into the tie as clear favourites to progress. The financial gulf between clubs in the English and Scottish top flights has widened to the extent Villa’s most recently reported annual revenues of £178million were 15 times those of this evening’s hosts.

But football matches are not played on balance sheets and these rare UK derbies, or Battles of Britain if you prefer, have a tendency of being tighter than some would expect.

Throw in the fact Villa’s last two ventures into Europe have ended in play-off round defeats and you can understand why Emery is certainly taking no chances. Villa skipper John McGinn revealed earlier this week how 10 analysts had been tasked with dissecting Hibs’ third qualifying round win over Luzern and League Cup triumph against Raith Rovers.

McGinn, who makes his return to Easter Road for the first time since moving to Villa for £2.5million five summers ago, can provide valuable insight for Emery and his team-mates into what to expect, as can set piece coach Austin MacPhee, who worked for four years on the other side of Edinburgh at Hearts.

It is McGinn, who netted his first goal of the season in Sunday's 4-0 win over Everton, who will very much be the centre of attention. Emery is the latest Villa boss to benefit from the club’s greatest transfer bargain of recent times.

“Now, I think he would cost more than before,” smiles Emery. “It is good because John McGinn is always positive in the dressing room, always happy, always demanding, always committed with his team-mates, with the club, with the coaches, his work is always high. I am happy for him.

“He is always trying to do his best. Against Everton on Sunday he was pushing until minute 85, 90 minutes.

“He was playing the same move in the first minute and the 90th minute. John is an example for others, for his teammates, for the supporters, for how defends everything.”

Villa will likely need to show McGinn-style grit as a collective at some stage on Wednesday, against hosts who will be backed by a sold-out Easter Road crowd and will relish the underdog tag.

Nicolo Zaniolo, who scored the winner in the final when Roma won the inaugural Conference League title two seasons ago, could make his Villa debut after receiving his visa clearance. Philippe Coutinho misses out with the hamstring injury sustained late in Sunday's win, while Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey are still several weeks away from fitness.

“Playing in Europe always gave me a lot as a coach, I am so grateful for the possibility,” said Emery.

“Now with Aston Villa I want to share with everybody my experiences and my competitive way. That I did before and I want to do it here. That is the message for the players and for the supporters.

“There are other teams like West Ham and Roma, who were the first team to win the competition.

“They are really good teams and to win it is very, very difficult. But we have to be first candidate to be in the group and second try to be candidate to focus in this competition.”