Unai Emery spoke of his disappointment after Aston Villa’s 1-0 defeat at Manchester United but is determined to bounce back having seen the club’s 10-match unbeaten run come to an end.
Bruno Fernandes’ strike six minutes before the break settled the encounter as Villa tasted defeat for the first time since mid-February.
Douglas Luiz went close to rescuing a point late on when his strike was cleared off the line by Victor Lindelof, but head coach Emery felt it was a fair result on the balance of play over 90 minutes.
“Firstly, thank you to our supporters, they supported us here, they came to be with us and tried to give us energy inside the stadium,” Emery told VillaTV.
“But, at the end today, we should be a little bit disappointed because we didn’t play, really, with the demands (of the game).
“Of course, Manchester United at home, they are strong and we are playing a team in the top four.
“I want to reduce the distance they have to us, trying to get stronger in our way, playing more consistently with our idea. Trying to improve our style, our build.
“I think today we can be bitterly disappointed but, overall, we have to analyse everything, in the way we are now.
“Adding the new step ahead we have in front, facing the possibility to play for a European place.
“We are going to think and analyse the next match against Wolves on Saturday because we have in front a new opportunity.”
The Villans had gone 10 Premier League matches without defeat for the first time since 2011, winning eight and keeping seven clean sheets.
But defeat at Old Trafford ended that sequence, with Villa suffering only their second away league loss under Emery.
And the Spaniard is now looking to get back on track for the final four matches of the campaign, starting against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux next Saturday.
“I think we can be happy thinking of the matches we played before and being really strong in our way, adding a new target,” Emery said.
“And now we are going to think, after analysing this match, about the next match.
“I’m thinking about only Wolves because, each match, we have to be thinking about those three points we have to face.
“And then it depends as well on other teams.
“We are now in a very good moment to try to enjoy everybody, and support and try to be positive, try to be very competitive.
“The opportunity we have in front is very important and we have to play, being focused for trying to get it.”
