Aston Villa have had their top four hopes backed by former player and pundit Stephen Warnock, who shared his verdict on the race for the top four after the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.
It’s not been the best week for Unai Emery and Aston Villa, who have suffered two defeats in games that had the potential to send a statement to those around them.
It wasn’t until the final week of January that the Villans were beaten at Villa Park for the first time in the 2023/24 Premier League season, however, their stellar home form has been tarnished since.
A midweek loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup saw a premature cup exit in front of their home crowd, while Sunday afternoon’s late defeat to Manchester United saw Emery’s side have to settle for 5th place.
Due to Tottenham’s late win against Brighton on Saturday, Villa dropped out of the top four and now sit just one point outside of the executive Champions League places after 24 games played.
Despite the defeat to Erik ten Hag’s side pushing them fractionally below Spurs in the race for 4th, pundit Stephen Warnock remains optimistic on Villa’s claim to secure their European dream.
What Stephen Warnock said about Aston Villa in the top four race
In a column for the BBC reacting to Villa’s defeat, the former defender, who made 101 appearances in claret and blue, admitted that despite the loss being a “setback”, he still had hopes for Emery’s top-four race.
“It is a setback, but I have been following Villa closely all season after spending time with their squad in the United States during the Premier League Summer Series in July, and I am confident they will respond.”
“With the organisation I have seen from Unai Emery – his game plan, and the tactical tweaks he makes during games – I still think they will have enough.”
One of the problems that came from both of Villa’s defeats last week was the inability to take their chances, particularly against United where the hosts recorded 23 shots to no avail.
Despite the difficulties that Emery’s side have very recently run into, Warnock explained that he believes that his former club will be able to secure a spot in the top four come the end of the season.
“It is obviously frustrating when you don’t take them [chances] and lose, but I look at what Villa are doing and think they will come good.”
“It would be far worse for Emery and his players if they were losing games without having those openings and thinking, ‘well, we don’t have an identity or a clear idea of what we are trying to achieve’.”
Warnock’s points display the bigger picture of the United defeat, noting the progression that Emery has already spurred Villa towards, considering that the Midlands club were 15th at the point of his arrival in October 2022.
It will be a week of reflection and reset for the Villans, who will be desperate to bounce back against Fulham on the weekend.
