Unai Emery dreaming of taking Aston Villa to Champions League

The Spaniard also claims winning a trophy is his minimum aim for his Villa Park reign.

Emery is determined to match last season’s top-seven finish in his first full campaign in charge but hopes to go even better.

"We have to be a candidate to be in the top seven, that is our challenge," he said. "The present and the future for me at Aston Villa is try to play in the Champions League, that is my dream.

"Then, try to have the option to win a trophy, that is another challenge. My challenge here is to win trophies, minimum one trophy, but try to improve being a candidate for different trophies, in Europe, in the league, in the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup.

“We have to work a lot and we have to be very, very competitive if we want to achieve it."

Villa round off their pre-season tonight when they face Emery’s former club Valencia in Spain. Their Premier League campaign begins next Saturday at Newcastle.