Danny Ings: Aston Villa squad excited by appointment of Unai Emery
Danny Ings says Aston Villa players are excited by the arrival of new head coach Unai Emery after the Spaniard was appointed on Monday.
Emery will officially take charge of Villa on Tuesday and is currently awaiting a work permit, replacing Steven Gerrard who was sacked last week.
Ings admitted the team are excited and ready to play for Emery and is hoping the new Villa boss watched the team’s 4-0 win over Brentford on Sunday.
“When (Emery’s appointment) was announced I think the lads were excited and ready to work,” said Emery as quoted by the Express and Star.
“Hopefully he was watching the game at the weekend. We just need to keep bringing that energy and with his guidance, hopefully we will be where we need to.”
Onwards and upwards.
Emery is an elite manager and he comes to Villa Park with a point to prove, a dangerous combination that should get Villans excited.
Villa paying the €6m (£5.25m) release clause to get his services all but proves they wanted him dearly and it may prove to be a shrewd bit of business.
Survival must be Emery’s first target before any European ambitions, but his pedigree in Europe shouldn’t go unnoticed despite Villa’s lack of it in recent years.
If there was ever a manager to catapult them into European contention, it’s Emery, who knows we could see Aston Villa competing in the tactician’s favourite tournament the Europa League soon.
It didn’t work out for Emery last time around in the Premier League but that doesn’t mean that it won’t now, Villa have an exciting squad that wasn’t utilised efficiently under Gerrard.
The timing seems right and this one could be special, a redemption story for both Villa and Emery might just be beginning.
In other Aston Villa news, one of the Villans’ key players is ahead of schedule for their injury return and could even make it to the World Cup.