Unai Emery cut a delighted figure after Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur.
Villa came from behind to claim all three points from a pulsating encounter in north London, Ollie Watkins’ 12th goal of the season just after the hour mark settling an enthralling affair.
It came after Pau Torres’ header deep into first-half injury time levelled matters following Giovani Lo Celso’s deflected opener for Spurs in the 22nd minute.
“I’m very happy,” head coach Emery told VillaTV.
“I’m very thankful to everybody - the supporters, the club, the workers, the players, the coaching staff.
“We were focused in this match trying to be very consistent in the 90 minutes, trying to keep our mentality like we were trying to build. And we did.
“One match, very tough, we could have lost, drew or won, but to be always keeping our gameplan and trying to be focused in all the details we were trying to face on the pitch.
“And the players did perfectly.”
The high-flying Villans have now lost just one of their last 10 matches in all competitions, winning eight, and have taken 22 points from the last 27 on offer.
Victory also ensured Emery’s side have now registered a club-record 22 Premier League wins in a calendar year, their highest in the top flight since 1980.
Asked about the record, Emery said: “I’m very proud.
“But I told the players, at Forest I was very proud of them and we lost and, of course, here I can tell them easier.
“The most important is how we are doing the way. How we are doing, being demanding, being focused.
“Yesterday (Saturday), we were preparing for the match on the pitch and I was really focusing with the players how difficult (game) we were facing today.
“I was explaining to the players yesterday because we analysed Tottenham deeply in the two weeks.
“Today, they were on the pitch, and they faced it. But they followed the gameplan we were preparing.”
You can watch Unai’s full interview below, in which the Spaniard discusses why he went to the dressing room immediately after Villa's equaliser rather than watch the final minutes of the first half…
