As we await Unai Emery’s highly anticipated unveiling as Aston Villa boss next week, the Spanish tactician has important matters to consider in the meantime.
Having been confirmed as our Head Coach – starting on November 1 – Emery will undoubtedly already be hard at work in terms of analysing the current squad and preparing for his first game in charge against Man Utd on November 6.
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However, there are several other tasks that he’ll be looking to complete firstly between now and arriving at Bodymoor Heath, as well as once he gets amongst the players in his first few training sessions.
It’s an exciting and promising appointment from Villa given Emery’s achievements, experience and pedigree at the top level, and so we’ll wait to see how influential he can be whilst in the job at Villa Park.
Settle on backroom staff
Emery will no doubt have already thought about – and begun – this process as soon as he decided that he was taking the Villa job.
Time will tell what it means for the likes of Aaron Danks and Neil Cutler who have remained at the club following Steven Gerrard’s departure, as Emery may well want to bring all of his own staff in with him or he might wish to have a balance and lean on coaches who are already at the club.
Either way, those will be the first set of big decisions that he must make as he’ll want to surround himself with the right people to ensure that he makes a major success of his new role.
Successfully get his ideas across to the players as soon as possible
Naturally, this is an appointment made in the hope that he can oversee long-term improvement and success and so we’re not just looking for a quick fix without a bigger vision.
However, in order to help Emery settle into the job and gain the confidence and faith of his squad, he’ll want to implement his philosophy, style of play and identity on the group as soon as possible and get them to buy-in to what he’s doing.
Given his CV and achievements across a coaching career that has seen him operate at the top level, there is absolutely no reason for the players not to believe in his ideas, and so it’s just hoped that the two sides work well together.
Select a captain
After John McGinn replaced Tyrone Mings as club captain under Gerrard, Emery will have to decide on where the armband goes under his stewardship.
Given the criticism and concern over whether or not McGinn is even a regular starter now should rule him out, while Mings has shown great leadership with his response after coming back into the side earlier this season.
That said, Emiliano Martinez is surely a strong candidate too given his importance in the side and as an ever-present figure in the Villa starting XI. Time will tell if Emery goes with the Argentine International.
Decipher which system suits his players best
As mentioned above, Emery will want to implement and install his own ideas and style on the players, and they will have to adapt to that and him.
It’s a two-way transaction though as he’ll also have to decide on which individuals fit into his plans and how best to use them, having used a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-4-2 in his more recent position at Villarreal.
As we saw against Brentford last weekend, the former system suited us so much better as players looked more comfortable and confident in their roles on the pitch. It’s down to Emery to decide whether or not that’s the right path to follow or if he can mould his group to fit into a different formation that he believes will be fruitful for us.
Given his tactical flexibility and know-how though, it may be a case of having multiple solutions which will allow him to make in-game tweaks when required.
