'As Villa climb, Emery raises the sights further'

Claims that the Premier League is the world’s biggest, strongest and most popular competition are now heard so frequently that they have become almost banal. But my experiences covering some Villa games in Europe over the last year or so – and of reporting on Wolves in the Europa League five seasons ago – were a startling demonstration to the occasional football-traveller that this really is how many fans abroad see it.

We are of course familiar with Villa’s grand history, but until their surge under Emery, you could imagine that younger generations of European fans following the Premier League might not have known much about Villa. There was no doubt, though, that when Villa rolled into town last season, from Warsaw to Amsterdam to Piraeus, you could feel the buzz. People came out to see the Premier League roadshow, and you could sense their opponents were especially pumped up for the occasion, the same emotions that have powered underdog teams in the FA Cup for generations.

It brought the same perils. At their best, Villa were probably good enough to have won the Conference League last season, but came unstuck against Legia Warsaw and Olympiakos, less-fancied sides fired up by their fans. There was no question that they saw it as a giant-killing, and celebrated accordingly.

When Unai Emery talks of Villa’s Conference League experiences being their most relevant source of learning for this campaign, this is probably what he means. “Away matches were very difficult,” he said in Bruges last night. “Playing against some teams from England like us… they are very motivated. Maybe we can feel something like when we were playing against Bayern Munich at home, how we were feeling with our supporters and motivation, playing 100% focused and very intense and competitive… maybe Brugge are going to be the same.”

Villa are better equipped to handle these challenges now, after making smart signings and bringing back players after long-term injuries. Squad rotation no longer risks a major drop in performance, and tiring players do not need to be pushed to their limits because of limited credible alternatives. At the only away game so far, in Bern, Emery sent out a very strong side, and they won easily.

Top-24 qualification is almost assured already; so, true to form, Emery talked last night of what it would take to reach the top eight, even though his team were “not favourites” to be there. This is his method: as Villa climb, he keeps raising their sights a little further.

Listen to full commentary of Club Brugge v Aston Villa at 17:45 on Wednesday on BBC Radio WM

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