Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers insists we have gears to go through for the rest of the season, while praising Unai Emery’s influence on him and the team.
It’s been a memorable 12 months for the 23-year-old, as after joining us from Middlesbrough just over a year ago, he has enjoyed an incredible upward trajectory in his career.
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While the numbers tell a story in themselves with 13 goals and six assists in 48 appearances, Rogers has not only emerged as one of the biggest positives at the club under Emery since he was appointed and a fundamental figure in the side, but he has established himself as one of the top talents in Europe.
Having also made his senior England debut in that time, his improvement and development has been exceptional to this point, and it’s hoped that there is still plenty to come from him in a Villa shirt in the coming years.
Rogers though admits it has been difficult this season as we’ve had to balance our efforts in the Premier League and Champions League, while also trying to end our wait for silverware through the domestic cup competitions.
While our exploits in Europe have been superb thus far, we’ve got work to do domestically if we want to qualify for European competition again next season, and Rogers is confident that we’ll kick on in the final months of the campaign.
“The first time juggling the Champions League with the Premier League has been difficult,” Rogers told Sky Sports. “We found it hard to go again and again and it’s something we’ve got to get used to if we want to achieve what we want and get the club where we want to get to. It’s going to be difficult, but we’ve got numbers in the squad to help us do so.
“It’s about finding the right balance and getting that consistency, which we’ve been lacking at times.
“But the exciting thing is I don’t think we’ve been at our best and we’re still there and thereabouts to where we want to be. We’re not quite exactly there, but we’re not a million miles away and a couple of good results, a couple of good weeks turns in our favour, but we know we’ve got more to come.”
Reinforcements arriving in January will certainly help, with Villa making five signings in total in Donyell Malen, Andres Garcia, Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi, and it’s hoped that their arrivals provide us with an important boost between now and May.
Given the ongoing presence of PSR, that was balanced with exits as Jhon Duran, Jaden Philogene, Diego Carlos and others moved on, but Villa are arguably now a stronger squad than how we started the transfer window.
Rashford was of course the stand-out name given what he’s done at Man Utd previously and how he’d fallen out of favour at Old Trafford prior to joining us, and so there will be a lot of focus on his push to get his career back on track at Villa.
Rogers is relishing the opportunity to play alongside him, and with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Jacob Ramsey, Leon Bailey and Malen in mind too, Villa have a dangerous attacking unit that has the potential to be devastating..
“His talent and quality, everyone’s seen it for a number of years now,” he said of Rashford. “To be able to play with him is something I’m thoroughly looking forward to.
“When I was coming up, he was starting to be the guy in England and he’s someone I looked up to as a player in a similar position that you want to try and be one day.
“Hopefully we can cause some damage on the pitch and get Villa where we want to get them.”
One person has been more instrumental than most in Rogers’ rise over the past year though, from identifying his talent and potential at Middlesbrough to developing him into one of the top young players in the country, Emery has played a fundamental role in his progression.
It’s hoped that process is far from done as Rogers continues to strive to get better, but the Villa ace was keen to praise Emery for the influence and impact that he’s had on his career to date, and reassuringly for us fans, he also revealed his hope that the pair can continue to work together for a long time to come.
Given we’ve seen a whole host of players follow a similar path under the Basque coach since he arrived, his man-management and ability to nurture talent is evidently some of his biggest strengths, and he’ll look to continue that fine work with Rogers and the rest of the squad to help us achieve our ambitions.
“He’s so demanding,” he added on Emery. “Any little thing he’ll be on you for and the way he is, the detail he goes into, how much he loves the game, how much he wants to win, it rubs off on us. That’s what he wants us to do, we’re a product of him and the way he is.
“Every day I’m learning whether I think I am or I’m not, whether it’s psychologically or how I think about the game. He’s improved me in so many different areas, but mainly about my mindset, about carrying on and doing what I’m good at, even if it doesn’t work and just to keep going.
