Manager remains calm despite his side taking one point and scoring no goals in opening three Premier League games
Unai Emery is not panicking. He may kick every ball on the touchline but, behind closed doors, Aston Villa’s players are used to him being the calmest person in the room, routinely more demanding after victory than defeat. John McGinn tells a story in which the Villa manager, early in his now almost four-year tenure, broke character and lost his cool during a half-time interval not owing to a lukewarm performance but because he witnessed his captain tearing into teammates. In Emery’s eyes, it was McGinn expending unnecessary energy rather than seeking solutions.
Emery, McGinn and Villa have been here before. Just last season, in fact; at this point, they were pointless in the Premier League and still another 157 minutes from registering their first goal. So in one sense Villa, who shook off a slow start to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, are ahead of schedule. Villa’s goalless draw at Hull on Saturday was not the most absorbing display but there were enough green shoots to trust Emery when he says he is confident they can again exceed expectations.
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