Unai Emery rules out major change as Aston Villa look to recover attacking verve

A run of just three wins in eight matches has seen his team fall off the pace in the Premier League title race and left them looking over their shoulders in the battle for Champions League football.

But Emery is remaining calm and continues to focus on the bigger picture, with Villa still sat third in the table.

The boss reckons only small tweaks are needed to improve on recent performances.

He explained: “We are setting our standards high and sometimes we can become frustrated because we are not achieving during the process some results, like on Saturday against Leeds.

“But overall, our consistency is still there and our demand is still there.

“If we are third, it is because we are being consistent and we are being demanding.

“Of course, maybe we can change something but tactically and in our idea of how we are building the team, everything we built before makes sense.

“It is not easy now to change everything. No, it is completely wrong if we are feeling that.”

Villa’s players will return to Bodymoor Heath on Tuesday to start preparations for Friday’s derby at Wolves.

The match is an important one for the visitors as they look to maintain their advantage over rivals Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool in the fight for the top-five finish, likely to be enough to secure Champions League qualification. 

Villa hold a six-point lead over Chelsea, who they host on Wednesday week. Emery’s men also face United at Old Trafford on March 15.

The key focus for the boss is on improving an attack which has faltered since the turn of the year.

Villa have conceded just five goals in the last eight Premier League matches, fewer than any other team.

But they have taken only 12 points in that spell due to scoring only eight times themselves, the fourth-worst return in the division over that period after Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Wolves. Three of Villa’s goals came in their win over Forest on January 3.

Emery must decide whether to hand Tammy Abraham a start at Molineux after the striker netted for the second successive Saturday to salvage a 1-1 draw against Leeds last weekend.

Jadon Sancho and Ross Barkley are also pushing to start after impressive cameos off the bench.

“Everything that has happened is something we are trying to analyse, understand and then correct it,” said Emery.

“We are going to focus with each player in the way they can improve, in the way to get better in confidence, to get better feeling comfortable.

“Of course, we must be motivated how we are in the table now. We are third on 51 points.