Soccer Football - Champions League - Aston Villa v Bologna - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - October 22, 2024 Aston Villa manager Unai Emery reacts REUTERS/Molly Darlington
(Reuters) - Unai Emery completed two years at Aston Villa this week and the Spaniard said on Friday that he has now set his sights on winning a trophy after helping the club qualify for the Champions League, where they currently top the standings.
Emery was appointed Villa's manager in October 2022 after Steven Gerrard was sacked and when the side were languishing in 16th place before guiding them to seventh and qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
Last season, Villa finished fourth to return to the Champions League after 41 years and the 52-year-old is now targeting the club's first trophy since their League Cup win in 1996.
"It's been two years since I arrived here. We have been very demanding and we were always trying to be better in each moment we were working here," Emery told reporters ahead of Saturday's home game against Bournemouth.
"We achieved some objectives quickly, but there's still a lot of work to do. When we are achieving the objectives we can face each season, it's very important to work very hard.
"The first objective was to play in Europe, to be in the top seven. The second dream I had, in that moment and now, was to get a trophy. We are looking forward to continuing to improve."
Villa are looking to extend their 10-match unbeaten run when they welcome Bournemouth who Emery described as a "very demanding team" who sit 11th in the table under fellow Spaniard Andoni Iraola.
"At home, or away, they play always with the same style – pressing a lot, being competitive, in duels," he said.
"They are playing so active in everything, quick. Individually, they have very good players and a strong structure. Their coach is progressing and improving a lot.
"To beat them, to get three points tomorrow, I know it is going to be very difficult and we will need the players' full energy, full focus, really being clinical in every decision we can have tomorrow."
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
