Gary Neville has hailed the ‘brilliant’ Unai Emery whilst backing Aston Villa to finish in the top six ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
The Manchester United legend says Unai Emery, after his appointment last November, has brought ‘life’ back to the club, as he told The Overlap.
Under the stewardship of Steven Gerrard, everything had declined at Aston Villa, from the team’s form, individual players, to the fans’ belief in what was happening.
But that call from the Villa owners – Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens – to boot him out and bring Emery in was a stroke of genius.
Only Pep Guardiola’s Treble-winning Manchester City won more points than Villa did during that period and it resulted in them making a return to Europe.
Well, Sky Sports pundit Neville thinks it will only get better for the Midlands outfit, as he hailed the man in the Villa Park dugout.
“I think he is a brilliant manager,” said Neville. “I really fancy them (to finish in the top six). I think he is a manager that knows exactly what he wants.
“He has brought with him a group of people that he has worked with before. The general manager I had at Valencia is his general manager and communications guy at Aston Villa.
“He knows exactly what he is doing. Been around the block. A top, top manager. I think they will deliver this season, Aston Villa.
“Villa go into that category of Newcastle, over the past ten years, where you have gone there and you think ‘it’s a great club and it’s been a bit like (puffs his cheeks)’. But I think what Emery has done, he has brought life to Villa and they need life.”
Positive mood heading into the new season…
It has been a long while since we have felt and been so positive about a team.
The last ten or so years have been beyond abject, yes, the Dean Smith days were beautiful, but he was getting us out of the Championship, a place we should have never been.
But the running of the club has been quite magnificent and it is filtering through to the rest.
Emery is laying down the pieces of the jigsaw, Europe is back, and it has been over two decades since we won a trophy.
But given how everything is going and how fans are feeling towards the manager and players, then there is every chance that we can take that next step again, as well as end our trophy drought.
