Unai Emery: Aston Villa in 'best moment' as run-in heats up

Villa travel to Bournemouth on Saturday evening hunting a win which would keep them firmly in the race for Champions League football.

Emery will be without Youri Tielemans for the first time this season after the midfielder suffered a muscle injury, while loan star Marcus Rashford remains out with a hamstring problem.

But the boss is upbeat and says he does not want to think yet about the close season, as his team try to chase down the Premier League’s top five.

He said: “Now we are focused. I want to play tomorrow, I want to play next week, I want to play two weeks after. I want to continue playing.

“I don't want now, holidays. I don't want. I want to play. Why? Because now we are in our best moment. We have to try to reduce the distance with the teams we have in front of us.” 

While the loss of Tielemans is a serious blow, Emery believes Villa are still in far better shape than in the middle of the campaign, when a host of players were absent through injury.

He continued: “During the season sometimes I was missing a lot of things. And now we have players, work, focus, a good mentality, a very good mentality. The way they are working, every player, is fantastic. 

“The message we are trying to set in the dressing room, is a strong message. Now we have to get Europe again. We have to play again the last matches, finish the season as well as possible.”

The manager referenced Amadou Onana, Lamare Bogarde and Ross Barkley among the players who will get the chance to step up in the absence of Tielemans, the only player to have started all 35 league matches to this point.

Barkley has made only four substitute appearances since returning last month from calf and knee injuries. The 31-year-old has been limited to just three league starts in what has become a frustrating first season following his £5million move from Luton.

Emery said: “It is the moment for Barkley. It is the moment for Amadou Onana, for Kamara. It is the moment for Lamar Bogarde.

“Now, of course, it is not good news to have players injured like Youri Tielemans or Marcus Rashford.

“But we have enough players to replace them and get through them our best performances.

“Of course, Youri was performing fantastic. He was leading, playing and dominating some different tactical ways we have. With the ball, without the ball he was very important.

“Playing as a ten number, in being versatile. But now is the moment for an opportunity and we need players now to replace him, performing in the same way. 

“When (Barkley) was injured in January, February, March, more or less three months, of course we were missing him. 

“We were missing the minutes he was adding us, playing, performing and consistency. And now again is the moment for him.”