“It’s the little details, the first touch, the weight of pass,” explained homegrown hero Jacob Ramsey, with Aston Villa flourishing under Unai Emery as the Basque manager looks to bring European football back to Villa Park for the first time in over a decade. Ramsey, meanwhile, explained what’s been asked of him given his upturn in goal contributions over the last month. Speaking to BirminghamLive , he said: “Playing on the left and the right are two different things. On the left, Alex is really high and wide and my game is to come into the pockets, find the half turn and find Alex, and have a really good connection with Emi [Buendia] and Ollie [Watkins].
Jacob Ramsey said: “It is tough, man. The boss is really demanding in terms of positions. It’s the little details, the first touch, the weight of the pass. He is only trying to improve us so the lads are taking it on board. I am really enjoying it. I feel like I am developing well, listening to all the coaches. The people who have come in with the boss are really top.”
The win over Fulham in midweek was Villa’s fifth on the bounce at home and their eighth in their last 10. It means European qualification is firmly within reach with five matches to go.
Jacob Ramsey said: “It is all there for us. Brighton have games in hand but we can only control what we do and the points we are picking up. We still have to go to Old Trafford and to Anfield, we’ve got Spurs to play. We can only control what we do. The boss said today in our meeting no-one would have imagined this. When we first took over we were right above relegation and now we are fighting for European places. There is pressure there. But I think at the start of the season there was pressure to get away from the relegation zone. Everyone in the squad would rather play with this pressure. There’s always pressure but at the moment we are enjoying it. It has been a long time since Villa have been in those competitions. The crowd deserves it. I think they have been really great this season and hopefully we can get there.”
Asked what the message has been from Emery to his players inside Villa’s dressing room,
Jacob Ramsey added: “Be humble. I think after the Newcastle game everyone came into the changing room, not with ego, but on a high. The first thing he said when he came in was we need to respect every team. There are big things to play for – the Europa League. But we need to stay humble and respect every team. We’ll now go to Old Trafford. They have just come off a Wembley win, so I think they will be in good form. It’s always good to go there.”
