There was a buzz of excitement in the Directors’ Club at Villa Park on Friday afternoon as Unai Emery was officially unveiled as Aston Villa’s new head coach.
Dressed impeccably in a dark suit with a claret tie, the Spaniard strode onto the stage with the conviction of a man who is greatly respected in his profession for his successes to date.
Emery was flanked by Sporting Director Johan Lange and CEO Christian Purslow, who began proceedings by addressing the assembled journalists.
Purslow said the Spaniard’s arrival is “perhaps the most important step our club has taken since promotion from the Championship”, promising him the personal support of owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens in driving the first team and Academy forward.
The pedigree of Villa’s head coach was in focus from the off as a reporter from Sky Sports referenced his Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain, his four Europa League triumphs and his exploits with Villarreal in the Champions League in their opening question about his ambition for the club.
A greeting to everyone in the room and a thank you to the club’s hierarchy was how Emery chose to begin his response before he highlighted the great project that enticed him to the role.
The 51-year-old was keen to stress the importance of taking things step-by-step as he and his trusted coaching staff look to improve Villa’s performance in the Premier League.
While Emery’s focus on producing results in the short-term was a running theme throughout the press conference, the serial winner also admitted “my dream is to win a trophy with Aston Villa”, a line that will fill every fan with hope for the future. Those words carry weight when spoken by someone who can back them up with an impressive trophy cabinet.
His “second dream” is to take the club into Europe, but for now the immediate challenge is to see improvement from a squad that Emery believes has been underachieving.
Camera crews panned left to Lange when the Dane was quizzed on the prospect of working with the new coach, and his excitement came across from the outset.
Having referenced Emery’s experience in domestic and European football, Lange also pointed out the coach’s ability to take clubs of a similar stature into “a much better place” when given time to do so.
A reporter from TalkSport turned the attention back to Purslow as they probed the CEO on the importance of this appointment.
The crucial timing of the decision as Villa build towards realising their long-term ambitions was the reasoning provided by Purslow as he once again pressed home the importance of continuous improvement.
The mood within the room took a humorous turn at the mention of Peaky Blinders. A smile spread across the head coach's face when a reporter asked him whether he was watching it again to help him better understand the Brummie accent.
A self-confessed fan of the show, Emery admitted it had helped him to get a feel for the city’s history as he looks to settle quickly into life in Birmingham.
Villa Park is woven into the fabric of the city as one its most famous landmarks, and Emery’s eagerness to taste the matchday atmosphere was clear.
The Spaniard has sampled it once before when he brought his Valencia team to B6 for a pre-season friendly in 2010, and he recalled being impressed with the passionate crowd despite the fact there was nothing riding on the match.
All four sides of Villa Park will play their part as Emery looks to transform the team’s fortunes in the short-term, starting on Sunday against Manchester United, and achieve the club’s ambition to compete at a higher level in the years to come.
The “grandness” of Aston Villa was an attractive feature for the head coach, who referenced the club’s European Cup triumph in 1982 when talking of the “daring challenge” that lies ahead.
As the press conference came to a close, the first phase of Emery’s Villa tenure had been completed. He can now turn his attention to writing the first chapter of his story at the club when Unai Emery's Aston Villa step out at Villa Park this weekend.
“I want to be here for a long time and each step ahead thinking to improve,” he said during the press conference.
“With our dreams, my dream, my ambitions, the club, they gave me the same idea that I have – be ambitious and to improve as soon as possible and to think of each step to be stronger.”
