Unai Emery was proud of his Aston Villa players after they overcame Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.
The visitors battled from the first whistle to the last at St Mary’s, earning their reward when Ollie Watkins scored the only goal after 77 minutes.
Emery praised the team’s performance when he spoke to VillaTV after the game.
“I’m very proud of our work,” he said.
“We were being so, so competitive and trying to control the match in the first half. We had chances to score but we didn’t do it.
“In the second half, we started playing very well but they made some changes and were pushing.
“We waited for our moment to start controlling the match again and to get some options to score, and we did it.
“We deserved it because the players’ work was fantastic.”
The Spaniard has now overseen five victories in seven Premier League games since taking charge, including a run of three consecutive away wins.
However, Emery is not resting on his laurels and says he will keep driving the squad forward as he seeks improvements.
He said: “We are so happy with what we are doing. We are being so, so competitive and taking points after we had been in the bottom [of the table].
“I want to improve. I want to do better. I want to be demanding with the players and continue working to improve.
“We are doing it step-by-step and the players are responding well.”
