Unai Emery, the head coach of Aston Villa, just wants to celebrate his birthday with three points against Nottingham
Forest on Sunday.
Emery, who turned 52 on Friday, is looking for a league victory that might move his team into the top four this
weekend when they travel to the City Ground. He has engineered a spectacular turnaround at Villa Park over the last
12 months, winning 22 of the 35 games he has managed.
That is more wins than the most recent two title-winning managers achieved at their respective clubs in their first 35
games: 20 for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and 16 for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. He began his reign at Villa
Park last year with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United a few days after his 51st birthday, and he says he is solely
concerned about his team’s match versus Forest.
“This is my birthday, but I recall last year’s birthday. I guess I went here on Thursday to prepare for the game against
Manchester United. It is still the same; I am preparing for the game against Nottingham Forest,” he stated.
“I don’t want to say anything about my birthday, unless we win on Sunday and I will then enjoy it after the match!”
Speaking of the game against Forest, Emery stated, “I am not talking about playing under pressure. For our part, I
prefer not to discuss it. For them, the situation is the same: they need points and must win away.
“Each team’s wishes and desires are same to ours. We’re aiming for a good performance by playing well, adding
details, and improving our game control over the previous match. It’s always important to stay focused on your work
and tasks.
“We are striving to strengthen our organization. We may talk about confidence and playing under pressure, but the
most important thing is to work on improving and sticking to our game plan.”
