Unai Emery explains Aston Villa rotation as he urges squad to be "ambitious"

28 October 2023 , 13:10

942     0

Unai Emery admits he will need to rotate his side as they battle for silverware at home and abroad (Image: Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery claims the rotation of his squad is all in aid of achieving results across all competitions as a collective.

Villa were in Europa Conference League action in midweek, beating AZ Alkmaar 4-1 on away soil. But Emery has hinted he could make changes to his lineup for the visit of Luton Town in the Premier League on Sunday in a bid to keep his players fresh.

"This is the reason we have to separate every competition and focus on every match with the idea that we must build a team," he said. "We will need players trying to be ready to play and performing when we are playing in Premier League, when we are playing in Conference League.

"It's not about trying to play different players in different competitions, it's about trying to be ready with the players and to get performances collectively when we are changing players."

Emery also expressed his desire for unity within the team, stating: "I want to be a small family. I want everybody to have feelings with our fans and try to take our heart strongly defending the Aston Villa shirt, Aston Villa's history and the present.

Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush

"That is the emotion that I want to create and share with our supporters. Then I want to be very demanding and ambitious. To get our ambitions, we are working hard and always improving our capacity, collectively and individually, and building our mentality to compete and win."

Villa have been victorious in their last 11 home league games, while Luton are coming off a late 2-2 comeback draw at Nottingham Forest. Emery praised Villa's opponents, saying: "I respect them a lot. I watched the match against Everton (a 1-0 win) and the draw last week at Nottingham Forest after they were losing 2-0.

"Their reaction was amazing. We have to analyse deeply and prepare our game plan, adapting to them and respecting them. Then we have to impose our idea and try find their weakness with our capacity to build our structure offensively."

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]

Darren Wells