Unai Emery 'worried' and 'excited' by challenge of rebuilding Aston Villa

If Unai Emery truly is worried, his face says otherwise.

For a manager who might watch more than half of last season’s starting XI walk out the door by the time the transfer window is closed, the Villa boss was in surprisingly upbeat mood at his first press conference of the Premier League season.

“Excited” was how Emery described himself at the “huge challenge” of rebuilding the club’s best team in a generation and though he later conceded to being “worried” about the impact of a summer of huge upheaval, he insisted that was nothing new.

"I was worried three years and a half ago when I arrived here,” he smiled.

“We were playing the first match against Manchester United at home. I was so, so worried.

“I was worried three years ago, the first match we played, I don't remember now, but I was worried.

“I was worried two years ago, I was worried last year when we started playing Newcastle at home.

“We drew. We were finishing the transfer window and we didn't work like we wanted in the transfer window.

“I was worried when we played five matches in the Premier League and we didn't win.

“I was worried then, and I am worried now. Of course, I am worried like in the last three years I was worried.

“Why? Because everything I want to try to close like we are planning, but we are working strong. We are working intelligently.”

Emery’s approach to the loss of key players including Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne, Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa and quite possibly Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez too is to accept it as both the price of success and proof of his own good work in improving the levels of those players.

Even so, the Spaniard conceded he had not anticipated quite so much change, at one point questioning why it is this particular window which has attracted such strong interest in his squad.

There is also the sense Villa, who have signed six new players and counting, have been a little unfortunate with the injuries which mean Joao Gomes and Brian Madjo will be sidelined for the opening weeks of the season.

Record buy Johan Manzambi is also working his way back from a knee injury and though Alejandro Garnacho, Matteo Ruggeri, Zion Suzuki and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who completed his loan switch from West Ham on Friday, could make their debuts in Sunday’s Premier League opener at Brighton, it is impossible to escape the sense Villa are beginning the campaign not fully prepared.

Emery, who watched his team fail to win any of last season’s first six matches, acknowledged the need to “accelerate” squad development, albeit with more changes likely between now and the September 1 transfer deadline.

“There is always uncertainty,” he said. “But we are doing those changes with our players and I’m excited to look forward to their work, their work playing matches because we believe in the players that we have.

“It’s difficult, but we are Aston Villa. We are challenging each year to be in the top positions, we are challenging to play in Europe, and we are getting it.

“This year is when maybe the consequence after three years, because they are calling our players and they are getting good deals with the clubs.

“This is something in our process we knew and that we are doing.”