Unai Emery has revealed the key conversations he had with Aston Villa owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens which convinced him to become the club’s head coach. Emery, 51, was appointed as Steven Gerrard’s successor and will be thrust into the claret and blue limelight on Sunday, as he lines his new squad up to face Manchester United in front of a packed out Villa Park crowd. Speaking to Villa TV in his first interview since being appointed, Emery revealed the conversations he had with Sawiris and Edens which convinced him to take on the role.
Unai Emery said: “They were so clear. The decision was difficult but the message was clear for me. We want your experience, we want your capacity to achieve some objective in your career as a coach and your experiences in the Premier League gave you more experiences for the present now. We want to improve and create a new future and go up.”
Emery went on to speak in greater detail regarding his relationship with Sawiris,
Unai Emery said: “I didn’t know him before but when he called we started speaking about his passion of football and me as a coach, how I can help him to show my professional idea and my passion. It was the key and those conversations with him [Sawiris] were really big to convince and trust in this way. It is going to be difficult but I am excited.”