Unai Emery spoke to reporters at Bodymoor Heath on Thursday afternoon.
The Aston Villa head coach had his say on the upcoming game against Brentford, his team’s current run of form and much more.
Here’s what he had to say…
On finishing the season strongly…
“To be in Europe is very difficult because we have Brighton, we have Liverpool, we have Brentford, we have Fulham, we have Tottenham.
“The top four is City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle. To be there is very difficult. If we can win every match, maybe. We have to wait on their mistakes.
“My idea is not to think about it and to think only about the next match because I know how difficult it is to be in the top seven. Brighton and Liverpool are going to play their next matches, and while we’re sixth now, we could be eighth.
“Now is the moment to focus on each match. The next is Brentford. Of course we have our dreams, but our dreams now are not long, it is only facing the next match.
“We have to try to do good performances and get better ourselves.”
On Villa’s mentality…
“We have to be aware of why we are in this moment and why we are keeping this moment longer, but also why we can lose. The players are aware how we can face each match.
“I’m trying not to let them relax or stop. Myself as well, I cannot stop, I cannot relax and I have to be the same coach coaching each match, training for each match, analysing each match like I was five months ago, like two weeks ago when we went to Chelsea.”
On the team's away form…
“The most important thing now is to keep being humble. This means we can improve; we can play better.
“We are doing amazing performances away and we’ve improved a lot at home, but Brentford on Saturday, out of the last few matches we’ve played away, is the most difficult challenge we will have.
“They’ve only lost two matches at home – against Arsenal a long time ago and Newcastle, but they were a difficult match for both. Now, Brentford is the team, after Newcastle, with the best defensive structure.”
On facing Brentford…
“We lost three matches one month ago and our reaction was very good. They can do the same.
“They were in front of us one or two months ago with an important points difference, and now they are behind, but it’s a match for us to try and get away from them or for them to get closer to us.
“We are now trying to compete for Europe. If they beat us on Saturday, they can do the same. We are both playing for an important three points for our future.
“We lost in Newcastle 4-0 and we got revenge against them here. Against Brentford, we won the first match 4-0 and they will be thinking they can get revenge against us.
“For me, Brentford have a good coach who has worked with them for a long time and they have a clear gameplan for each match. They are strong in their idea and we have to adapt.”
