Unai Emery says Aston Villa need to recover some of their energy after a tough week in Europe and the Premier League.
The club’s head coach saw his side battle hard but lose out to Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 on Sunday, following on from a 4-2 loss to Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League in midweek.
Emery’s squad are desperate to progress on both fronts, and the Spaniard will keep pushing them to the end of the season.
“We have to rest after a tough week,” he said.
“Someone in the club told me last week, ‘It was a fantastic week, the best week I’ve had at Aston Villa,’ after we won in Arsenal and in the penalty shootout against Lille.
“This week has been more difficult, a tough week. Now it’s important to rest and recover some players, to recover some energy and go to Athens and then Villa Park trying to enjoy the moment we have in front [of us].
“We’re motivated, we’re deserving to enjoy this moment with our supporters and our fans. Our supporters were supporting us here, but we lost.
“We competed well but it wasn’t enough today to get some points. Even when we were in minute 75, I was thinking maybe this draw is fantastic for us because today we are not at full energy.
“The goalkeeper saved the penalty and he played fantastic today, Robin Olsen. It’s not easy to be a substitute for Emi Martínez, the best goalkeeper in the world, but he’s always ready to play, he’s always positive, he’s always respectful and always practicing ready to help the team.
“Today, I was very happy with him. Even when he saved the penalty, the second action was bad luck. We tried to draw but now we’re going to try and keep our advantage in the table and get the really amazing objective we have of Champions League.”
João Pedro scored the decisive goal on the south coast, pouncing on the rebound after Robin Olsen had saved his penalty.
Villa now have three big games left in the season to prepare for.
Emery said: “We have to try to understand our progress and our progression. Always I’m trying to learn with the players, with the club and try to use my experiences with them.
“We’re doing a very good season, enjoying Europe for the first time in a long time, we’re in a semi-final, sometimes we’re making some mistakes and losing.
“We have to think about the circumstances we have. Today we’re a little disappointed, a little bit frustrated but we have to keep balance, try to rest and be strong on Thursday, next Monday and against Crystal Palace.”
