Ezri Konsa has conceded Unai Emery was right to call out Aston Villa’s players at Sunderland but insisted there is no feeling they are a club in crisis.
It has been a turbulent 72 hours for Villa, who face Bologna in their opening Europa League fixture on Thursday. The impoverished display on Wearside was followed by the departure of Monchi, the influential Sporting Director, and speculation about Emery’s long-term future.
There has been a cloud hanging over the club all summer and it wouldn’t have been difficult to envisage a situation where Emery – whose coruscating comments after the 1-1 draw with Sunderland raised eyebrows – had come into conflict with players who looked horribly out of sorts.
But Konsa, the England international, accepted the squad must deal with the criticism that has accompanied their winless start to the campaign and pointed out the spotlight is on them because there has been such progress since Emery arrived.
‘I don’t think we are at the stage where we need to have meetings,’ said Konsa. ‘People will talk about crisis meetings but we have got a great captain in John McGinn, who really takes the lead. After the game, he said a few words to keep us going, to keep encouraging us.
‘Look, we haven’t started the season well. We know that. But I’m sure it’s going to go well soon. I’m not worried. I’m sure the boys ain’t worried either. We have got a great squad. I know what we are capable of. Once we get that first goal and first win, we will fly from there.
‘When I first joined (in 2022) to where we are now is completely different. Standards have been set and they’re really high – when we are getting criticised from the outside, I think that’s normal. It happens to the best of teams. It’s happening to us. It’s on ourselves to try and get that first win.’
Monchi, a close ally of Emery, had been wrestling with the decision to leave a period of time and informed the club that he wanted to head back to Spain. Villa moved swiftly to appoint Roberto Olabe, another man with whom Emery has a long-standing relationship.
‘We decided to do a normal transition – nothing is changing in the structure,’ said Emery. ‘We are trying to recover our performances and I think we are improving. It hasn’t been enough because we don’t have a victory but now we have a challenge to show who we are.
‘There is speculation but the reality is we had a draw at Sunderland after not performing well. I work hard, I have meetings, collectively and individually. We have spoken openly about what kind of team we want to be again. We are very excited again to be in Europe and this is our privilege.’
