Dan Bardell shares surprise at what Unai Emery did in Aston Villa v Middlesbrough
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Dan Bardell was surprised that Unai Emery named such a strong team for the Aston Villa game against Middlesbrough on 6 January.
The Villa boss picked a number of his first-team players in his starting lineup for the FA Cup clash as his side claimed a 1-0 victory at the Riverside Stadium.
The Spaniard may have been expected to hand more fringe players a start against the Championship club as the Villans are battling it out for a Champions League place and are into the knockout rounds of the Europa Conference League.
Bardell revealed that he heard Emery “wasn’t massively bothered” about the competition, but he was pleased to see the winning mentality instilled in the players helped them claim a victory courtesy of Matty Cash’s late goal.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “I was actually quite surprised at how strong Emery went for the game. He went a little bit stronger than I thought he would.
“The word that I’d heard was that he wasn’t massively bothered by the FA Cup and he wanted to focus on the Premier League and the Conference League as the two priorities.
“But Villa have been rubbish in the FA Cup for years since they got to the final and got absolutely pumped. The FA Cup has not been a very pleasant experience for Villa and the fans.
“It was a tricky tie. The thing with Unai Emery’s Villa team going into the latter stages of a game even if we’re trailing or drawing, I always fancy us to do something. I always fancy something to happen. He seems to have instilled this kind of keep-going mentality and this winning mentality into the team.
“They got a win and got themselves through into the next round via another late goal. That’s something I’m enjoying about this Villa team at the moment.”
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has shared what he’s been told about an exit-linked Villa player.