Unai Emery warns Aston Villa favourites tag means nothing ahead of Ajax test

Villa enter the second leg of their Europa Conference League last-16 tie with the slight edge after last week’s 0-0 first leg draw in Amsterdam, though Emery insists a better performance will be needed if they are to overcome the Dutch giants.

The Spaniard knows his team are many people’s pick to win the competition outright but says nothing can be taken for granted in what is a “key moment” of the season.

“To be favourite in Europe cannot help you,” said Emery. “The way to show we are favourites is playing well and we did not show that in Amsterdam.

“They (Ajax) showed us they want to go far in this competition and they want to beat us.

“This is a good example, playing the first leg we got very good information on them and they got very good information on us because we did not play how I wanted.

“In Europe, it is very difficult to be favourites. Tomorrow Ajax are going to try very hard to stay in this competition.”

Emery has spent part of this week reminding his players of the effort already expended to reach this point, with Villa having embarked on a terrific run over the second half of last season to snare seventh place in the Premier League and a return to European competition for the first time since 2010.

They then rebounded from a 3-2 defeat on the competition’s opening night to top Group E and qualify for the knockout stages.

While a top four Premier League finish remains a major aim, Emery has made no secret of his desire to end Villa’s long wait for a major trophy or his love of European competition.

The four-time Europa League winner reiterated that stance yesterday.

Emery said: “The first message I sent here, the first day when I arrived and had my first press conference, was speaking about coming back to Europe.

“We are there, we are involved in it now and I think it is the start. I want to try to be successful.

“The positive message I can send the players, the supporters and the club is I like Europe and want to do something in it.

We got this by putting in a very big effort last year and now we want to try and use the moment we have. Sometimes it is hard to play on Thursday and Sunday, particularly when you have to travel but I like it.”

This match, in that respect, also represents a chance for Villa to rebound from the disappointment of last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Tottenham, which damaged their top four aspirations.

Right-back Matty Cash described it as the “perfect game” to bounce back and also confirmed Villa’s players had discussed how progression in Europe can also help their cause in the league, with English clubs currently competing with those in Italy and Germany for an extra place in next year’s Champions League.

“We have spoken about that in meetings,” said Cash. “We are not looking too far ahead, I know it’s not the answer you want to hear.

“But it’s what we speak about, our main focus right now is obviously to bounce back from a defeat we didn’t want. That is all we are focusing on.

“It is a big motivation for us personally, we want to put things right. The first game at Ajax was a tough game and on the back of a tough defeat at the weekend as well, tomorrow is the perfect game to bounce back. It is good to have a lot of games thick and fast.”

Villa have so far been excellent in responding to setbacks this season, with last month’s FA Cup exit to Chelsea the only defeat they did not follow with a victory.

“It is the mentality the whole team has created,” said Cash. “It comes from the manager. Since he has come in to the club it has changed completely. When we do lose we want to bounce back and that is something we have managed to do before.

“We don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves. What we have done so far is focus on the next game and it has got us this far. We are very ambitious.”