Matt Maher: Premier League ambitions really are the be all and end all

Just in case no-one had been paying attention, Emery repeated it in the wake of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Everton.

“The Premier League is 100 per cent the most important competition for us,” said the Villa boss.

If anyone was still in any doubt as to the club’s priorities this season, there it is in black and white.

For all the talk, from both head coach and players, of the desire to end Villa’s long trophy drought, the truth is the Premier League conquers all.

A top-five finish, which this season might well be sufficient to snare a place in the Champions League and the associated riches it entails, trumps silverware.

That’s the reality of the modern game and has been for a while. With four wins from their opening six top-flight games, Villa have made a more than handy start to that particular quest.

It doesn’t make the manner of Wednesday’s cup exit any less frustrating.

For one night only, it almost felt as though Villa Park had been placed inside a time machine and transported back to the not-too-distant past, complete with half-empty stands and an on-field performance which left much to be desired.

It’s a defeat which could sting even more a few months from now. A home tie with Burnley would have been Villa’s reward for victory and with Manchester City having gone out to Newcastle, who will now face Manchester United in the next round, the path to the latter stages could have opened up rather quickly.

Someone will be playing a quarter-final against either Mansfield or Port Vale, the latter pair the Midlands’ only remaining representatives in a competition where once again the glory will be found elsewhere.

But while the changes Emery made to his starting XI were the subject of scrutiny, just as they had been when Villa stumbled out of the Europa Conference League starting blocks at Legia Warsaw a few days previously, the head coach’s thinking behind the tinkering had some merit.

There’s no question that in handing Leander Dendoncker a first start of the season and playing John McGinn at left-back, Emery took a calculated gamble which simply didn’t work out. The Spaniard was willing to risk an early Carabao Cup exit in an attempt to give some of his fringe players needed game time.

On the other hand, it must be noted Emery was among the Premier League bosses to make the fewest midweek changes. Only Brentford’s Thomas Frank, who made two alterations to the team which played their previous Premier League match, made fewer.

The fact the Bees were beaten by an Arsenal team containing eight changes is a reminder even fielding your strongest XI is no guarantee of success.

Sure, Emery may have got his juggling act wrong, but it would also be wrong to describe Wednesday as a complete sacrifice of Villa’s Carabao Cup ambitions.

He later admitted to having abandoned his pre-match plan, in terms of how many minutes each player would play, in pursuit of victory during the second half.

The bigger issue, then, may be in the quality – or perhaps more precisely in Villa’s case the current conditioning – of the supporting cast.

Strong as Emery’s first-choice Premier League XI might be, it is now twice in quick succession things have gone awry when he has tried to shake things up.

In that regard, he shares a problem with Wolves boss Gary O’Neil, who made 10 changes at Ipswich Town on Tuesday night and then watched in frustration as the majority of those drafted into the team failed to make a case for more regular inclusion.

Boubacar Traore was perhaps the only player to emerge with reputation enhanced.

For others, most notably goalkeeper Dan Bentley, it felt a big opportunity missed.

Just as with Villa, the Premier League is the top priority for Wolves. The trouble for O’Neil, unlike Emery, is his team have not begun well on that front.

Early days it may still be yet these next two matches, both at home to Manchester City and then Villa, feel rather big ones early in the reign of a head coach who had the unenviable task of taking the reins just days before the season began.

Most concerning is how quickly the positivity of O’Neil’s early weeks has drained.

The change in mood from when the Wolves’ head coach spoke about his squad in upbeat terms after last month’s 5-0 Carabao Cup win over Blackpool compared to the past two matches, could hardly be sharper.

It’s understandable, of course, considering the disappointing results at both Luton and Ipswich. But while supporters will sympathise and may even agree with some of the things O’Neil is saying, reverting to expectation management is always a risky business for any head coach, not least one only a few weeks into the job.

Defeat to Ipswich won’t define O’Neil’s reign but does add to the air of negativity around Molineux. When he sits down to select a team for tomorrow’s visit of the reigning champions you suspect the Wolves boss, much like his counterpart at Villa, would have appreciated his players providing a few more headaches.