With Aston Villa in the thick of the business end of the season, Unai Emery has been able to utilise a pivotal difference-making factor to drive our excellent form.
Our 4-1 victory over Newcastle Utd this weekend made it five consecutive Premier League wins, while we’ve now won 11 of our last 13 games across all competitions.
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In stark contrast to how we ended last season as we eventually limped over the line after an exhausting and gruelling campaign, Villa have hit form, momentum and are peaking at the perfect time, just as so many of the most competitive sides do at this time of the year.
It’s important to stress that there is still work to be done and so much to play for between now and the end of the season, as we’ve ultimately not achieved anything yet. However, to bounce back in the manner we did on Saturday evening after our midweek disappointment in the Champions League, was testament to the resilience, mentality and quality that we boast in the current squad.
One of the key factors in this run is the strength in depth and competition for places at Emery’s disposal, but it’s one thing having that, and another entirely to utilise it effectively and efficiently to get the best out of the options at his disposal.
Not only has the Villa boss kept everyone fresh with his rotation and avoided further injury setbacks, but his decision-making has seen the right individuals start games and the timing and choices of personnel when making substitutions in the latter stages of games has been fundamental to maintaining our good form.
The players undoubtedly deserve credit too as they’ve shown the right attitude and desire regardless of their role or minutes in these outings, but it’s Emery devising winning gameplans, keeping his players motivated and hungry and ultimately masterminding this big final push to end the season.
The Villa boss has always spoken about his desire of having two top options in every position to be able to compete at the highest level and on multiple fronts, and through the combination of recovering players from injury and the additions made in the January transfer window, he has finally got to a place where he can call upon an impressive squad that he and the club have assembled.
Having stumbled through parts of the first half of the season as we struggled with absentees and the schedule, we’re hitting our stride now and it further justifies the moves and decisions made when building this group.
Villa are not only playing winning football right now, but it’s exhilarating to watch as we have the ability to blow teams away with the energy, intensity and quality that we have in our ranks, and with so many decisive showdowns still ahead in the coming weeks, there’s real belief and trust in Emery continuing to get the big calls right and masterminding what will hopefully prove to be a successful end to the campaign.
