Aston Villa defender Matty Cash has revealed what it’s been like playing under Unai Emery and the commitment he shows in improving the squad and our results.
Having taken charge of us in November after a bitterly disappointing start to last season left us languishing near the relegation zone, Emery oversaw an incredible turnaround as we ultimately ended the campaign qualifying for Europe.
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Aside from the obvious improvement in results which saw new club records set and our pace match those at the top of the standings, the Villa boss also inspired and coached individual development across the board too, with key players in the squad all raising their respective level and playing a bigger role for us in our upturn in form.
Naturally, that’s doesn’t just happen by chance and without a lot of hard work going into it, and Cash has opened the doors to Bodymoor Heath to reveal more about how Emery has managed to oversee the impressive progress that we’ve seen from the outside thus far.
“A lot has changed, to be honest, no disrespect to other managers because everyone has their own identity, but the manager has come in and has been really good,” he told the Claret & Blue Podcast. “He has set it out straight how he wants us to play, what targets he wants us to achieve and the main target last year was to get into Europe which we ended up doing so that was good, but as a coach he’s on another level.
“He has brought in great staff which helped it all massively. We have full-back coaches that do loads of work with the full-backs, we have striker coaches too. It’s all another level. I’ve never had stuff like that before so to be working with the two coaches that do the full-backs and the defensive side, in a short space of time the improvement we have seen has been really good. It’s all about little details and hopefully that can continue and keep progressing. That’s what he does with players, he makes them better.”
While that provided some insight into the infrastructure at the club and the work of the coaching staff that support Emery, Cash was also asked about the Spaniard and his dedication and commitment to the job.
Much has been said by many of his teammates about the meticulous nature of Emery’s obsession with the game, and aside from his own analysis with his staff that they carry out, he is known for holding lengthy meetings with the squad to get his ideas across and help them to see where they can continue to improve.
Cash echoed much of that and provided a bit more detail as to how often and how long those meetings are, and how even despite impressive results and performances, Emery is consistent in his drive and desire to get better.
“He’s a workaholic, he works continuously, I don’t know exactly what time he goes home but I think for a manager of his stature and what he has achieved in the game, I think for him the only way is to work, work, work to progress, and as you can see what he has done here in a short space of time… he’s been in European football for 16 years, he’s worked at the top and he has a great platform here to carry on doing it. All credit to him because it’s fantastic to work with him and to play under him.
“We’ll always do the meeting two days before the game, and it’ll be an hour and a half, maybe longer sometimes. It’s mainly him talking and we’ll literally go over the whole game, if we play away, we’ll watch the away game, if we play at home, we’ll watch the home game.”
While that gives us an idea of what Emery is like as a coach, Cash also revealed the other side of him where he has consistently insisted that he wants to build a family at Villa, which includes the coaches, players and the supporters.
It’s hoped that his first pre-season in charge of Villa will help him instil that further as the squad travel to the USA this week, and that will certainly not only be an opportunity to build our fitness and get ready for our Premier League season opener next month, but it will also give time for the squad to bond further and welcome new signings like Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans to the group.
“The manager wants to make it like a family here, we have a good squad and he wants everyone to be tight and close together and I think that’s how you get better really, if you’re a team and you’re close together and you know each other well, then you want to work for each other and that’s the feel he’s trying to bring.”
