Aston Villa defender Matty Cash has provided insight into the first couple of days working under new boss Unai Emery.
The Spanish tactician was officially announced as the new Villa Head Coach by the club on Thursday, but he has already been busy working at Bodymoor Heath after arriving on Wednesday following his work permit formalities being completed.
READ MORE: Key takeaway as Unai Emery takes charge of first Villa training session
It’s likely to be a whirlwind week for him as he not only gets to know his new squad but also formulates a game-plan for Sunday’s encounter with Man Utd, while also undergoing his media obligations on Friday which begin with his official unveiling by the club in the afternoon.
However, with Emery opting to get straight to work this week as he looks for a positive result in his first game at the helm, Cash provided some intriguing insight into what that process of settling in has been like for the new boss and what he’s been able to get through to the players in a short space of time.
Cash on Emery
“He took his first session yesterday which was good, loads of different ideas that we have to change so it’s been a busy couple of days,” Cash told Sky Sports. “We’ve had a few team meetings, but the main focus for us and him is the weekend so try and execute the gameplan of what we’ve learnt in the last couple of days.
“Calum Chambers and Emi Martinez spoke really highly of him, and his CV speaks for itself and how good he is as a coach. Really looking forward to working with him, there’s been loads of different game-plans. Hopefully we can win a Europa League here.
“He’s won a lot and is well known as a fantastic coach so it will be good to work with him. I’m sure we’ll learn more in the coming weeks on how he wants the team to lay out but looking too far ahead is the wrong thing to do. We’ve got a big game at the weekend.”
Intrigue builds ahead of Emery’s first game
Emery has been widely praised throughout his career for his coaching ability and tactical knowledge, and so while it’s no surprise to hear Cash talk about numerous ideas and game-plans being floated already, it’s what this group need having arguably been under-coached for some time previously.
Given the limited time the Villa boss will have with the players this week leading into the visit of Man Utd on Sunday and the other challenges he faces in terms of organising his coaching staff and acclimatising and adjusting to life back in England himself, there arguably shouldn’t be too much importance placed on the weekend’s game.
Of course we need results and to climb the Premier League table as soon as possible, but ultimately Emery has been hired as a long-term solution and will need time and patience to get his ideas across, establish and implement his fundamentals and principles and then get the players to absorb all of that and buy in.
That process undoubtedly takes longer than a week, and so while we hope to see positive early signs on Sunday and some smaller scale tweaks as Emery starts to stamp his mark on the group by way of personnel or system changes, there will be a lot more to come. Cash’s early insight suggests there will be important adjustments made by the new Villa boss but the focus for now is the next game.