Matt Maher: Unai Emery sounds ready for an urgent rethink at Aston Villa

In simple terms, it is what makes his team consistently look so well coached.

So when Emery expressed fear the structure had been “lost” in the aftermath of Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat to Chelsea it was more than worthy of note.

For the first time, it felt like an admission what has worked so well in the past isn’t working now.

When Villa have experienced bad runs before, most notably when they failed to win any of their first six matches this season, Emery’s has refused to flinch from the gameplan, maintaining belief consistency of message would eventually see them through.

Back in the dark days of September, it paid off handsomely as the goals of John McGinn and Emi Buendia brought the campaign spluttering to life.

Yet now, in the final days of winter and more than a month since Villa’s progress was knocked off course by injuries to McGinn, Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans, they are still awaiting a similar spark to put them back on track.

With every passing match the hope of finding it feels that bit further away. Doing the same thing, with players if lesser quality, shows no signs of working.

Having now lost back-to-back Premier League games for only the third time in the last three seasons, Emery appears to have finally acknowledged it is time for a rethink.

The good news, from Villa’s perspective, is there is still just about enough time to have one.

Though it might not feel like it, Emery’s men remain in pole position for a top-five finish, three points ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool and level with a Manchester United side who showed their own fragility by losing at 10-man Newcastle in midweek.

It is the inconsistency of rivals and certainty of further twists and surprise results during the run-in which sustains optimism.

Villa’s minimum requirement is to stay in the battle, to ensure they are in position to take advantage.

The past month has been a series of missed opportunities in the kind of fixtures they have typically, under Emery, been so good at taking care of business.

McGinn’s return, which could happen as early as next week, should prove a significant boost but the captain cannot do it all himself.

Primarily, Emery needs to find a way to make his team more robust.

Wednesday, when they were too often run through with ease by Chelsea’s pacy attack, might have been the most glaring example but in general they have over recent weeks been too easy to play against. The midfield partnership of Amadou Onana and Douglas Luiz has not really worked.

In Buendia, meanwhile, Villa have a player whose soaring form of the season’s first half has now plateaued.

The wider issue here is the club’s poor recruitment in recent windows. Buendia might be struggling but with Evann Guessand shipped out on loan and Harvey Elliott undesired, Emery has few options for change in Villa’s current shape. On the other flank, meanwhile, Jadon Sancho and Leon Bailey offer only inconsistent returns. 

Much has been written about Emery’s reluctance to drop Ollie Watkins for Tammy Abraham. We may now have reached a point where the manager decides to play both.

The eight-day lead-in to next week’s Europa League tie at Lille feels particularly significant. 

Such breaks between fixtures are rare at this stage of the year and would appear the perfect time for Emery to step back, take stock and reconsider the approach in a season which feels in increasing need of saving.