Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings has insisted that he is relishing the likelihood that he will face increased competition for his place next season.
Villa secured a place in the Europa Conference League on Sunday after finishing seventh in the Premier League, and it’s hopefully just the start of a long and successful journey with Unai Emery at the helm.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as Emery leads Villa to European return
Provided we come through the qualifying playoff round, it will mean a busier fixture schedule next season as we try to compete on multiple fronts, and so with that comes the expectation that we will add depth this summer.
Further, with this transfer window being Emery’s first real opportunity to go after his priority targets and significantly strengthen the group where possible, changes are expected in the coming months as we try to become increasingly competitive.
That isn’t phasing Mings though, as he understands that is simply part of the process of becoming a top team, and given his performances this past season, he has certainly established himself as a pillar in Emery’s side already and will no doubt have cemented his place in the Villa XI.
However, the new challenge he could face moving forward is coming under increased pressure to stay there, as time will tell if it’s just Diego Carlos pushing him and Ezri Konsa for a starting berth next season.
“I don’t think that is a threat. Players here want to play at the highest level and with that comes competition for places,” he is quoted as saying by the Express and Star. “I don’t think we can get through the next year, with the amount of games we are going to have, without having a strong squad. I don’t think that is anything to be threatened by. It will push everyone to keep getting better.
“The next step is playing European football and juggling a Premier League season. That is the next step, which will be difficult in itself, the travel, the games, the level of expectation.
“But every time you set foot on the pitch at this club something is different, something is changing. I don’t think I have ever been here in a period of calmness.
“That is what you want in football. You want things to keep changing and the goalposts to change. You want success and as the manager kept saying through the final months of the season, every game we win is giving us another opportunity to finish higher in the table.
“I think the club is changing both on and off the pitch, week by week. It has been like that since I came here in January 2019. It is a great club to be part of and I have loved my time here so far. I am really excited and proud to be part of what we are doing.”
It certainly is an exciting time to be a Villa fan as well as being part of the squad, and while adding reinforcements will be important, it will be fascinating to see how much more Emery can get out of the players that he inherited too.
The likes of Mings, John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins to name but a few have made major improvements while working with the Spanish tactician, and they’ll hope to continue to play pivotal roles in our ongoing push to become a force both domestically and in Europe.
Further, it will be very interesting to see what areas Emery and the club prioritise to strengthen too, and the hope is that Villa can get business done relatively early this summer in order to give any new arrivals the maximum amount of time possible to settle and adapt to the demands from the coaching staff ahead of another big year for us.
