Unai Emery has said Aston Villa are ‘not contenders’ for a top-five finish in the Premier League this season, despite sitting third in the table.
Villa suffered a shock setback on Sunday after losing 1-0 at home to Everton in the Premier League. The result ended a run of 11 consecutive home wins.
The Villans missed the chance to climb above Manchester City into second, after the latter’s defeat at Manchester United, and Emery is concerned by his side’s lack of options.
Villa missed out on the signing of Conor Gallagher this month, with the midfielder instead opting to sign for Tottenham, while Donyell Malen has left for AS Roma. Emery had wanted to keep the Dutchman but a lack of first-team football saw the winger push for an exit.
Speaking after the defeat to Everton, Emery said his side are ‘not contenders’ for Champions League qualification despite their current position.
“We are not contenders to be in the top five,” he told Sky Sports.
“There are other teams with more potential than us.”
Villa next face Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday and defender Ezri Konsa has called on the squad to bounce back. Speaking after the loss to Everton, he said: “It’s a tough one to take. We expected to win but we know there’s no easy games in the Premier League.
“Their record away from home in the last six games has been good, they defended well, stopped our attacking threats quite well.
“It’s part of football, you win some, you lose some, but we have to make sure we bounce back.
“We’ve got two important fixtures next week, we have to go and win next week.”
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