Unai Emery explains Morgan Rogers decision after another tough night for Aston Villa star
Unai Emery believes Morgan Rogers will emerge stronger from his current struggles after the Villa forward’s indifferent form continued in Thursday’s 1-0 win over Bologna.
Rogers was subjected to ironic cheers from some sections of the Villa Park crowd when he completed a pass late on in the Europa League tie.
The 23-year-old, last month crowned PFA young player of the year, has so far struggled to get anywhere near the heights of last season and endured another difficult night, even as Villa finally picked up their first win of the campaign.
Emery said Rogers must “accept” the reaction of the crowd and explained how he chose to keep him on the pitch for the whole game because he will benefit from the experience.
The boss said: “The fans have to show their emotions and we have to accept it.
“Sometimes they are applauding us, sometimes not. We have to be there always. Morgan is young. He needs time to get more experiences.
“Today I kept him on the field because I wanted his reaction, how he was accepting everything. He did.
“He didn’t play well. He wasn’t clinical in the attacking third.
“But I wanted to keep him on because firstly, he is always doing his task, always working for the team.
“He was not being clinical offensively but he needs to take experiences like today, not playing very well, some of the crowd not being happy with him, and grow up through it.”
John McGinn scored the only goal as Villa got their Europa League campaign off to a winning start.
Ollie Watkins missed the chance to double the lead and get off the mark for the season when he had a second half penalty saved.
Marco Bizot, who replaced the injured Emi Martinez in goal, then saved at the death from Martin Vitik.
Emery said: “We have won and that is the main thing. How is something we are trying to be demanding about.
“Today was a really difficult match and to dominate was not easy.
“We played well. If we were more clinical in the moments we had in the attacking third, we could have scored more. Overall, in 90 minutes, we can feel a little bit better than the last matches.”
