Unai Emery was proud of the experiences Aston Villa have shared with the club’s supporters in the Europa Conference League as their run in the competition came to an end.
A first European campaign in 13 years saw Villa reach the semi-finals, where Olympiacos emerged as 6-2 aggregate winners over two legs.
Head coach Emery hopes to use the lessons learned from their journey in the tournament to strengthen them for future challenges.
“Congratulations to our supporters,” he said.
“They were enjoying this way with us and we are disappointed but we want to tell them thank you because they were here with us, trying to come back the result.
“The first leg we lost a two-goal advantage and it was difficult here today. The first half was the key moment because we played controlling the game and having chances to score but we didn’t do it.
“They scored on one transition and we conceded. Overall, to win is very difficult. I think we have to be getting experiences in this competition and in Europe, playing in a semi-final and getting information and experiences for the next years and the process we’re in.
“We’re fighting in the Premier League for an amazing, amazing objective we have. Firstly, we’re in the Europa League next year and we are improving this year. Secondly, we have the opportunity to get into the Champions League.
“It’s going to be very difficult and we need the supporters. We need to change our mentality quickly, focusing on the match on Monday against Liverpool.”
Villa controlled the second leg in Greece but were unable to find the finishing touch at the end of several promising moves.
Emery was keen to move on quickly as his side look to continue the progress they’ve made under his stewardship.
He reflected: “We are proud of the way we did.
“It wasn't enough to get to a final, but getting to a final is very difficult. Hopefully, the experiences we’ve had this year in Europe can help us for the next years.
“They can help us in the process we want to do here, always trying to improve and get better.”
