Emi Martinez ‘won’t even notice’ Aston Villa snub after Unai Emery update
Ally McCoist doesn’t think Emi Martinez will care about losing the vice-captaincy at Aston Villa.
Unai Emery was delighted as Villa secured a 4-0 win over Bournemouth in one of the best performances of the season in B6.
Martinez was on fire for Villa against Bournemouth as the claret and blue outfit secured all three points at Villa Park.
The Argentina international made up for his previous errors after Martinez made a mistake against Liverpool to hand Mohamed Salah an easy goal.
The gaffe at Anfield ended with questions over Martinez and the vice-captaincy in the Midlands, with a decision made to remove it from him.
Unai Emery confirmed vice-captaincy strip from Emi Martinez
Martinez wanted to join Manchester United in the summer and did his utmost to try and force an Old Trafford switch.
The keeper reportedly sat at Bodymoor Heath throughout the whole of transfer deadline day waiting for a move that never came.
His relationship with the Villa fan base was severely damaged by his antics, a damage that hasn’t fully healed.
This culminated in Emery taking the vice captaincy away from Martinez, as confirmed when Ezri Konsa led Villa out in the 2-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Speaking after the Europa League victory, the Spaniard enforced the decision, “The first captain is John McGinn. We decided how we are, as well as managing the next captain.
“Usually, we have another captain, Emi Martinez, as second captain. But now, after speaking with him, I prefer to get him back. Konsa is the next one.
“Tyrone Mings, with Ollie Watkins too. Normally, we are managing it like that.“
This may be enough to damage some players, but McCoist believes the keeper will be totally unmoved by the decision at Villa Park.
Ally McCoist doesn’t think Martinez cares about vice-captaincy snub
The 33-year-old has always led by example in a Villa shirt, even if Tyrone Mings or John McGinn have been the club captain.
Martinez often took the armband on occasion last season, a decision that arguably helped utilise “the dark arts” and benefit from time-wasting exercises in the Midlands.
McCoist believes the keeper won’t be impacted by the decision to take that honour away from him, suggesting on talkSPORT that it is down to his prior transfer demands.
He said: “You don’t strip somebody of a captaincy or vice captaincy unless there’s a problem, or unless he’s asked to be relieved of that duty.
“The fact that he hasn’t asked, you don’t need Poirot to work out what’s happened. Is it any more than the ongoings in the summer? Potentially.
“I’ve got to say, there’s never been a man who will be less upset, I’ll tell you. I’ll bet he won’t even notice it.“
Villa fans would like to think that he is bothered by this change, given his links to Man United, which nearly destroyed his legacy in B6.
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