(Credit: Imago)

James Barker

Tue 19 May 2026 15:30, UK

Ezri Konsa has revealed that Unai Emery told the Aston Villa players that he was “really worried” after their bad start to the season – something he’s never done before.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s Europa League final, Emery cuts a cool and confident figure.

His Aston Villa side have shrugged off a three-game losing run to now reverse that form to three unbeaten, with their 4-2 victory over Liverpool last time out the perfect send-off for Istanbul.

The Spaniard is known and loved for his upbeat and energetic personality, as well as being an elite coach, and that’s certainly the side of him we’re seeing at the moment.

However, if we rewind the time to September 2025 at the tip of Aston Villa’s winless run to start the season, the 54-year-old had the whole Villa squad worried.

What did Ezri Konsa say about Unai Emery meeting message?

Sunday, 21 September 2025: Aston Villa have just drawn 1-1 with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

It’s a result that condemns Emery’s men to their fifth-straight Premier League game without a win to open the 2025-26 campaign, with many around Villa Park sweating on the direction this team was heading in.

Ahead of Villa’s first Europa League match against Bologna a few days later, Emery called in his players for a meeting.

As Konsa writes in a segment for The Players’ Tribune, something immediately felt off about the whole vibe in the room, and then Emery spoke three words that the Villa defender says he’s never heard him say before that had everyone worried.

“First five league games, we scored one goal. We didn’t win. Everyone was writing us off. To be honest, I only realised how bad it was when Unai Emery called us in for a meeting,” Konsa said.

“The boss loves meetings, long, long meetings. But this one was different. Nobody was talking. Our heads were down. I was hoping that he’d come up with a way to fix the team, but he sat down and looked at us.

“He said, “Guys ……… I’m really worried.” And I just remember thinking, (expletive) hell. 
This is bad. Really bad. 

“The boss has never, ever used that word. Not a single time three years. No matter how badly we’ve done, he’s always backed us to come out stronger on the other side.

“But in that meeting, you could tell that something was wrong just by the way he spoke. He was very concerned. We all were.

“I remember looking at the boys, seeing them glance over at one another, saying nothing. Nobody seemed to have any solutions. All I could think was, I’m not sure we’re gonna get out of this rut.”

Konsa reflects on his Aston Villa vow coming true

After those opening five games of the season, Aston Villa found themselves in the relegation zone, and hearing Emery reveal his true fear must’ve been a massive wake-up call for the players.

They knew that it was up to them to stop wasting the talent and potential within this group, but as Konsa admits, even he wasn’t convinced at the time that everything was going to work out this season.

“When I did the press conference before the Bologna game, I got asked all the usual stuff. “Do you think you can turn it around?” We all know how the media works, right? I had to say what they expected to hear,” he continued.

“I fully believe in this squad. Once it clicks, we’re gonna fly.” But I can’t say that I 100 per cent believed it. And that hurt, because I always want to be straight up with everybody. 

“Then we beat Bologna, and everything I had said actually happened.  You know the funny thing? There was nothing special going down. No massive team meeting or pep talk, nothing like that.

“I think it was just a fresh start for us. A different competition. No English teams. A clean slate. And once we won, a lot of relief. 

“A few months later, we had 11 wins on the bounce. We just had this crazy confidence. We lined up for games knowing we were going to win, and that feeling is very rare in football.”

Konsa’s words are a testament not only to Emery’s abilities, both as a coach and as a leader, knowing exactly what to say and when to say it, but also the character and resilience within this playing squad.