Aston Villa and England star makes ‘lazy’ admission after stinging Unai Emery criticism

Unai Emery told his Aston Villa players they were ‘lazy’ after their Premier League draw at Sunderland and one senior player agrees.

Villa’s attacking play this season has been alarmingly static, while their defending for Sunderland’s equaliser was a stark reminder that the mindset hasn’t been quite right throughout the team.

Emery’s comments hit the headlines but were obviously intended to motivate his players to snap out of whatever funk they’ve contorted themselves into. England defender Ezri Konsa has taken the criticism as intended and shared his view on the criticism when he spoke to the press ahead of Villa’s Europa League opener against Bologna.

“Yeah, it’s a fair comment,” Konsa admitted. “I think everyone has seen the picture, seen the goal. Here we pride ourselves in trying to play a high line; it is something the boss has instilled since he first came.”

The centre-back also discussed the difficulties Villa have faced in the early part of the season but backed himself and his teammates to bounce back against Bologna.

“We didn’t quite get it right,” he said. “Things have not been good for us so far this season. But there are blips in the season, and we are going through that now. Hopefully, we can move on.

“When your manager doesn’t speak too well of you, it is not a good thing for you. It does bring a bit of fuel into you, and you just want to play the next game as soon as possible to prove everyone wrong. It starts from [Thursday].”

Villa aren’t in crisis

Konsa was asked about the teams’s overall performance levels and the turbulence within the team and the club, crediting his captain as a leader in the dressing room without the need to go over the top.

“I don’t think we are at the stage where we need to have meetings,” said Konsa.

“People will talk about crisis meetings and things like that, but we have got a great captain in John McGinn, who really takes the lead in stuff like that.

“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.

“It shows how far we have come over the last three years [that people have criticised Villa’s start to the season].”

The Europa League is a big focus for Villa this season. Emery is the most successful manager in the history of the competition, winning four of his five finals and leading Sevilla to three Europa League wins in a row between 2014 and 2016.

Villa’s opening league phase match against Bologna is a chance to get their season kickstarted in front of their home fans against a team they defeated in the Champions League last season.

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