Aston Villa told to raise their intensity levels for key festive fixtures
Unai Emery has urged Villa to start taking the fight to their opponents as the season enters a crucial festive period.
Villa host Manchester City on Saturday lunchtime with Emery telling his players to raise their intensity levels after claiming they have been too passive in recent weeks.
The boss was frustrated at how his team collapsed to lose 2-1 at Nottingham Forest last weekend and with a rare full week to work on the training ground, says the focus has been on becoming more aggressive in their approach.
He said: “In everything we need an intensity, an aggressiveness. In duels, we try to have players fighting and winning these duels, beating the opponent on the field with the ball. This is the target we are trying to face.
“We have focused on trying to increase our intensity, individually and collectively, then to get the best position on the field to impose and dominate matches. If you are not playing with intensity, it is more difficult to dominate.”
Emery continued: “We need it in everything, with the ball, without the ball, when we are getting duels with the opponent.
“I don’t know exactly (why it wasn’t there) but maybe because we needed to create habits in the training session as well. Sometimes through the video it is not enough. The best example is the last match.”
The seven-day gap between the games against Forest and City is the longest Villa have enjoyed outside an international window since August.
While pleased with his team’s performance in the Champions League, where they are strongly-placed to qualify for the last-16, Emery has reiterated to his players how the Premier League remains the top priority and their best chance of returning to Europe next season.
Villa also face Newcastle and Brighton, two other contenders, before the end of the year.
Emery said: “My message is the same, the Premier League is the most important.
“The players are aware because the message inside is so strong. Maybe if we are getting in Europe and getting something relevant in the FA Cup we can change the objective.
“But these 38 matches are the best way we can achieve our objective for next year.”
