Unai Emery's Impact on Aston Villa
Matty Cash has expressed his belief that Aston Villa have not received the recognition they deserve for their achievements under Unai Emery. He also shared his surprise that the Spanish manager was not considered among the contenders for the Manager of the Season award.
Since Emery took charge, Aston Villa have accumulated the fourth-highest number of points in the Premier League and have qualified for the Champions League in two of the last three seasons. This was achieved following a 4–2 victory over Liverpool on Friday.
Despite leading the club to a top-five finish while managing European commitments, with Villa set to play in the Europa League final, Emery was not shortlisted for the Manager of the Season award.
Recognition and Consistency
Cash admitted he was surprised by Emery’s omission, stating, “With the circumstances that we've had in the summer, we obviously couldn't really spend a lot of money - and what's been going on behind the scenes or whatever. To do the job that he's done is unbelievable.”
When asked if Villa get enough recognition, Cash said, “We've never really, over the years - I think people still don't see us as one of the top four or five teams. And that's people not giving us the recognition - but the consistency that we've shown over the last three to four years since the manager has come in, I think we're more than in the conversation of being a top five Premier League team, with the demands and the consistency that would be shown.”
He added, “But sometimes, it's good to go as the underdog, because you can just sort of scrape along! I don't know, maybe people will start to realise and recognise that we are a top team, and we're hard to play against, especially at Villa Park where there's such a great atmosphere."
A Historic Win Over Liverpool
The win over Liverpool was Villa’s first against the Reds under Emery, ending a run of 10 previous league attempts without a victory. It also secured Champions League qualification for the club.
“We had a chance to win the game and make sure that we cement Champions League football and I think for the club overall is like a global thing - the Champions League is massive,” Cash said.
He continued, “People could say resting players and stuff, but we had one job tonight, that was to win and then we go again on Wednesday and we have to win again. We've got the same attitude, the same winning mentality and hopefully we can go and enjoy it and get a result.”
“It just goes to show the work that we do behind the scenes and on the pitch, training pitch, all the coaches, everyone involved, you know, it's not just turn up and play. You have to work really hard, and have a lot of sacrifices to be up here. It’s fantastic to be in the Champions League again.”
Preparing for the Europa League Final
The victory over Liverpool, which saw Villa sweep aside Arne Slot’s side, gives the team a strong platform to attack their Europa League final against SC Freiburg on Wednesday night.
“You have to be. It’s a final, you have to play the game, not the occasion. We've got our manager who is so experienced in the Europa League. He's going to set out a game plan and just tell us what we need to do and respect Freiberg, it's a 50-50 match.”
“But after tonight, I think we're really confident we can go there and enjoy the occasion, playing in the Europa League final. The club's obviously not done that for a long time. And they deserve it. The fans deserve it. They deserve a trophy coming back to Villa Park. They can celebrate that and hopefully we can do it.”
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