Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has reiterated his delight over extending his contract at the club, and credited owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens for their support.
As per the club’s official statement this week, the 52-year-old has extended his deal to stay until 2027, as he sets his sights on building on the remarkable progress we’ve seen over the past 18 months since he was appointed.
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From facing the potential threat of a relegation battle when he first took over to guiding us to European football and now pushing for a top-four finish in the Premier League, Emery has done a stellar job in every aspect as he has improved and developed everything around him.
The job is not yet done this season as we have four huge league games remaining as well as a Europa Conference League semi-final tie to look forward to, and so his focus will be on the next month, and more specifically, Chelsea on Saturday.
Nevertheless, he was asked about his contract extension in his pre-match press conference on Friday, and not only did the Basque coach reiterate how pleased he is having had the option of an additional year triggered, but also with how much support he feels from owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.
“I’m happy here, I’m happy,” he told the media, as per VillaTV. “I’m very motivated, when I arrived here one-and-a-half years ago, of course, our expectation progressively is getting better. But there’s still a lot of work to do.
“In my contract I signed for three-and-a-half years, but I had a clause and the club activated this clause for one year more. I agreed and I’m happy, of course.
“My objective is always to develop as a coach and my players. Nassef and Wes are ambitious & realistic because we don’t have the possibility to spend a lot of money because of FFP, but always are trying to be intelligent & positive.
“Firstly, increasing the confidence and the level we have in the squad. The players did it and they feel comfortable with the new demands we are trying to push of them.
“We are excited next year to play in the Europa League or the Champions League. Those players deserve from us trust in them because they have increased the level we have asked of them. The club is in the same idea. I am very grateful of Nassef and Wes because they are supporting me a lot.”
Not only have the Villa owners backed Emery financially in terms of building and improving his squad, but the infrastructure put in place around him, whether it’s personnel or how much power he has in decision making, has all been crucial to not only allowing him to settle and feel at home, but also to have the best possible chance of being successful by giving him the tools to make his vision a reality.
There appears to be a great synergy at the club currently with Emery at the forefront, and it’s hoped that we can achieve our objectives in the next month, before building on that and kicking on again next season.
Based on his comments above, the Villa boss perhaps doesn’t envisage a significant amount of spending this summer and so he’ll have to be astute with the signings he makes to improve the squad, but time will tell if that is indeed the case given the impact of PSR and FFP.
Emery makes a valid point though about allowing the players who have brought us to this point the chance to prove themselves at higher levels as he has seen significant development throughout the squad, and particularly with Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia, Boubacar Kamara and Jacob Ramsey to come back from lengthy spells on the sidelines due to injury, those are important reinforcements to reintegrate into the group next season too.