Express & Star

Unai Emery taking 'fear' out of Aston Villa players

Unai Emery has told his players practice will make perfect as they get used to his approach at Villa.

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Goalkeeper Emi Martinez revealed the new boss has urged them not to fear making mistakes as they adapt to his style of play, which includes passing it out from the back.

Martinez said:"He (Emery) is very demanding. He's one of the coaches that encourages a lot during the game. He watches a lot of videos and shows us what we have done right and wrong.

“If we make a mistake, he wants us to try it again, and do it our way. That gives the confidence to everybody. Earlier in the season, we had lost confidence.”

Villa made a mistake in the opening seconds of last weekend’s match at Brighton, when Alexis Mac Allister pounced on Martinez’s pass out to score. But Emery’s men hit back to win 2-1.

Martinez added: “On Sunday we made a mistake. Maybe I shouldn't pass it, maybe it was a foul on Dougie (Douglas Luiz). But we kept on playing.

“We made mistakes but we showed for the first time this season that we can win away and come back when we are losing.”