Unai Emery takes his FIRST training session as manager ahead of Aston Villa’s clash with Man United
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Unai Emery takes his FIRST training session as Aston Villa manager before his squad’s home game against Man United on Sunday after being forced to wait for work permit
- Unai Emery was pictured during his first training session as Aston Villa manager
- Emery officially started the position on Tuesday due to work permit formalities
- The Spaniard took over from Steven Gerrard who was fired by Villa last month
- His first game as boss is Sunday against Manchester United at Villa Park
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Unai Emery took his first training as Aston Villa manager on Wednesday morning, ahead of the club’s weekend game against Manchester United at Villa Park.
The Spaniard, who left Villarreal to join the West Midlands club following the departure of Steven Gerrard last month, was unable to take over until November 1 due to work permit formalities.
Emery and his coaching team held training at Bodymoor Heath on Wednesday, eager to begin preparations for Sunday’s home game against the Red Devils.
Unai Emery was photographed Wednesday morning during his first Aston Villa training session
The 50-year-old manager only took charge of Villa on Tuesday due to work permit formalities
While Emery seemed to spend most of the training addressing his Aston Villa players from the sidelines, the 50-year-old also got involved in some ball games during the session, imagining passing the ball with his left foot while striker Ollie Watkins watched intently.
Aston Villa, who suffered a miserable 4-0 loss to high-flyers Newcastle on Saturday, put down former boss Gerrard after a string of disappointing results in the Premier League.
His reign ended shortly after Aston Villa was thrashed 3-0 by Premier League newcomers Fulham on October 20.
Emery was hired just four days after Gerrard left, but was unable to take over right away and gave Aaron Danks the role as caretaker.
Emery – pictured alongside Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins – is also training at Bodymoor Heath
Former Villarreal head coach takes over from Steven Gerrard who was sacked last month
The former Arsenal manager enjoyed a successful stint at Villarreal after returning to LaLiga in 2020, leading the Spanish side to Europa League victory in 2021 and the Champions League semi-finals the following year.
After hosting Manchester United in the Premier League this weekend, Aston Villa travels to Old Trafford to face Erik ten Hag again in the third round of the EFL Cup next Thursday.
Centre-back Tyrone Mings, who had lost his captaincy and was subsequently knocked out by Gerrard for the first game of the season, admitted Emery’s appointment was “exciting”.
He said to the athletic last week: ‘It’s nerve-wracking because it’s not that easy to say that everything is going to be great now that we have a new manager.
Tyrone Mings admitted Aston Villa’s decision to appoint Spanish boss was ‘exciting’
Gerrard was knocked out by Aston Villa after the club’s miserable 3-0 defeat to Fulham last month
‘You have to prove yourself again. But it’s exciting because of what he’s done with the Villarreal players and the great results he’s had.
“That to me is the sign of a manager… that he can really squeeze every last bit of motivation, emotion, energy and enthusiasm out of the players he works with.
“He has to do something really good from Monday to Friday to make sure the players really want to play for him and believe in what he’s doing, and every 90 minutes they really go to the pit for him.”
