Aston Villa Manager Unai Emery Addresses Consistency, John McGinn, and Russell Martin

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery spoke to the media in anticipation of Saturday’s Premier League match against Southampton, scheduled for a 15:00 GMT kick-off. The following are the key points from his news conference: Regarding team news, Emery stated: “Some are doubts. Some had pain yesterday and some are tired. We are going to train now this afternoon. Tomorrow morning, only then it will be clear who will start the match. Jacob Ramsey is still weeks to come back – he is progressing well. [Amadou] Onana is close to coming back – maybe today he can do something with us. I don’t know whether he will be with us. Maybe Tuesday is easier.” Emery discussed the challenges of maintaining a consistent starting eleven, explaining: “It has been impossible at the moment because they are players playing a lot of matches and they are coming with some injuries, some with small pains, getting tired. For me, it’s not the most important [thing] to try to be consistent with the starting players. I want players knowing tactically and performing tactically and individually with their quality, always getting the level we want.” On the importance of their 3-1 victory over Brentford on Wednesday, Emery remarked: “For the supporters, the players, the team – working with the coaches and everybody – it was very important. We are focusing [on the] Premier League – the most important competition. Of course, to be consistent there is our challenge.” Concerning John McGinn, Emery commented: “He is important. He is in good form and the challenge is to keep this consistency. His personality is very, very important.” When asked about Southampton manager Russell Martin, Emery responded: “I appreciate a lot some teams and young coaches and how they are being brave and showing different ways. One of them is Russell Martin.”