Unai Emery makes ‘sack’ admission as he warns players about why Nassef Sawiris hired him
Unai Emery says he will continue to be relentless in his demands of his Aston Villa players, because the day he stops is the day he risks losing his reputation in football.
Villa face already-relegated Southampton on Saturday, following a 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
The return leg at Villa Park is set for Tuesday, but Emery has insisted on full focus for this weekend’s clash with the Premier League’s bottom club.
If Villa win at St. Mary’s, they will climb into the top five ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Ipswich Town and Newcastle United’s home fixture against Manchester United on Sunday.
“I want players focusing like I am focusing on each match in the Premier League,” Emery said. “Of course, we can remember how we were playing sometimes in the middle of the Champions League matches and when we weren’t working well, we weren’t achieving our objective. But now it’s not an excuse.
“If we are not performing well tomorrow, we are at risk. My message here, my message for the supporters, for our objective and with my responsibility to set the objective clearly, tomorrow is the most important match we are playing now.”
He added: “I am here because I was successful. If I was not being successful in my career as a coach and demanding like I am and was, I would not be here.
“They chose me, the owners, because I was a coach more or less in my career, always getting my objective through the clubs. Of course, not always.
“Coming here is because they wanted to try to get the same, to be ambitious, to work hard, to increase our demands, to increase our objectives during the process we are in.
“If I am not getting it [being demanding], I am going to lose my reputation, I am going to lose my position as a coach in football and maybe I will [get the] sack again!”
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