Aston Villa boss Unai Emery insists he’s happy with Ollie Watkins being angry over his recent limited role given the response he’s given and way he’s performed on the pitch when called upon.
The 29-year-old featured for just 25 minutes over the two legs of our Champions League quarter-final tie with Paris Saint-Germain, while he’s been left on the bench in key Premier League and FA Cup games over the past month too.
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Having already shown his class and professionalism last weekend as he sparked us into life in our key win over Southampton, Watkins provided a repeat against Newcastle Utd on Saturday evening, powering us to a decisive 4-1 win over a direct rival in the battle for Champions League qualification for next season.
Speaking after the game, the Villa striker didn’t shy away from revealing his frustration and anger about being left out in recent games, as ultimately he wants to play and test himself against the best on a consistent basis, and having been such a pillar of the Villa team for so long, it can’t be easy for him to watch on from the sidelines with Marcus Rashford getting the nod instead.
Most fans will surely have no issue with his comments as we’d rather have a player on the bench desperate to come on and make an impact than one who sulks about not playing and checks out mentally, and that was the message from Emery too, with the Villa boss consistently reiterating his happiness with Watkins while always praising his mindset and attitude.
“It’s fantastic! It’s fantastic to be angry, it’s fantastic to play like the way he did today. It’s fantastic to be ready and available in every match in the better moments like today I think he showed. This is the committed way I want,” Emery said in his post-match press conference, as per Sky Sports.
“He’s a very good person and very respectful always. His commitment is always very, very positive with his teammates, with the club, with the coaches and with the manager.
“With Watkins, it was a very good conversation. Of course, when he responded like today, wow, I am so, so happy for him and for the team. Also for our objectives, how we are getting through them and through their demands as well. It’s really fantastic. But every player is the same for me, trying to support and to help them.”
As Villa continue to evolve into a side capable of competing on multiple fronts for major honours, squad depth and competition for places is a natural development and necessity, and so the players have to adjust to that.
While Watkins has been tireless and has the ability to carry a heavy workload, we’re arguably seeing the benefit of him being able to rest, as much like the rest of the squad, we look fresh, full of energy and able to attack these last weeks of the season.
Of course, it’s understandable where his frustration comes from though and many will argue that he should have started the second leg against PSG, but Emery’s priority is the team and winning games, and he is rightly delighted that his players are responding in the right way to continue to keep our hopes of achieving big objectives this year alive.
Naturally, Watkins will be itching to start against Manchester City in midweek while we have our FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace next weekend, and so it will on the Villa boss to find the right balance and combinations to give us the best possible chance of extending our winning form, while trying his best to keep everyone happy.
That may not be possible when we consider the players he had to leave out of his matchday squad this weekend, such is the strength in depth we have right now with no injuries and the signings made in January, but whoever starts or comes off the bench, knows that they have a job to do to make this a successful campaign.