Leon Bailey has hailed the team spirit among Aston Villa’s squad as “amazing” as the club embarks on its mid-season training camp in Dubai.
The Jamaica international wide man sat down with VillaTV at the team’s hotel on day one in the Middle East.
The Villans enjoyed a hard day’s work in intense heat, with fixtures against Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea to come this week, in readiness for the return of Premier League football later this month.
And Bailey was quick to praise the camaraderie among Villa’s ranks as they enjoy a week together.
“The spirit within the group is amazing,” he said.
“Even with the young lads coming up, it’s really nice to bond with them, share experiences with them and help them.
“It also gives us a lot of responsibility.
“It brings us together a lot and I think this is something nice that we’re here in Dubai, really bonding with each other, and most importantly working together to better ourselves for the coming games.”
Asked about his role on the pitch under head coach Unai Emery since the Spaniard’s arrival, Bailey added: “My role has been good, I feel great.
“I think we’re playing amazing football and we just need to keep enjoying our football, that’s what I’m doing and it feels good.”
Villa supporters voted Bailey as the club's November Player of the Month, in partnership with Cazoo.
The 25-year-old started our league clash against Manchester United at the beginning of the month and opened the scoring in front of the Holte End as the Villans ran out 3-1 winners.
Bailey's fine performance and fourth goal of the season in a memorable victory ensured he triumphed in Villa’s official man of the match vote.
He then stepped off the bench at Old Trafford and put in an impressive cameo, before entering the fray as a second-half substitute in our 2-1 triumph at Brighton, helping to secure back-to-back league wins.
Reflecting on the award, Bailey said: “It’s amazing
“I want to thank all the fans who voted for me to be player of the month.
“It obviously wouldn’t be possible without the team and I’m really just focused on getting back and being with the team, playing good football, making the fans happy.
“Just continuing what we do and move up the table, which is important.”
