Unai Emery’s Aston Villa future called into question with rivals on red alert

Unai Emery’s ‘frustration’ could see him leave Aston Villa in the future.

That is the view of Stuart Pearce after the Spaniard’s bizarre post-match interview on Sunday.

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Emery claimed his side are not contenders to qualify for the Champions League following their defeat to Everton.

His remarks came despite Villa sitting nine points clear of sixth place Chelsea in third and only behind Manchester City on goal difference.

However, their title hopes were dented by the 1-0 loss to the Toffees, which leaves them seven points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

After the defeat, Emery spoke to Sky Sports during their post-match coverage of the contest.

His answers raised eyebrows, though, as Emery began giving one-word responses before falling silent when asked why he feels his side cannot compete with the Premier League’s top clubs.

He had earlier admitted: “We are not (a) contender to be in the top five.

“We are still not being contenders. There are other teams with more potential than us.”

Pearce on Emery’s future

Pearce was asked why Emery did not give an answer to the question during his interview live on talkSPORT on Monday.

The former City manager told White & Jordan: “I think he probably should have answered it. But the fact he didn’t answer it, we all filled in the gaps in anyway. So it didn’t overly matter.

“We knew what he was going to say. We knew what he would have said. ‘I’m up against (it), my hands are tied a little bit here,’ in regard to all the financial situations that’s going on.

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“I’ve watched this team a fair bit over the last six weeks and they’ve been outstanding, but they’re all punching above their weight.

“When you look at the bench beyond that, it’s not as strong as all these other sides, especially Arsenal and Man City and the like so he’s got his hands tied.

“I don’t know whether the frustration going forward will be too much for him that he can’t take this team any further than he is and what the implications are for him and his job situation going forward.

“Because he’s certainly alerted a lot of clubs that there’s an outstanding manager there.”

Villa’s ambitions have also been impacted by the Premier League’s PSR regulations.

Despite having the league’s lowest net spend since Emery’s arrival in November 2022, they could not afford to sign Conor Gallagher permanently before the summer.

As a result, the midfielder instead completed a switch to Tottenham Hotspur from Atletico Madrid last week.

Meanwhile, Emery remains under contract at Villa Park until the summer of 2029.

The 54-year-old signed a new deal with the club at the end of the 2023/24 season after qualifying for the Champions League.

Villa’s fourth place finish that term was their highest for 28 years.

Emery has achieved finishes of seventh and sixth either side of that campaign, securing European qualification every year since he joined the club.

The previous two seasons have seen Villa reach the Conference League semi-finals as well as the last eight of the Champions League.

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They are currently in the Europa League this term after missing out on the top five on goal difference last season.

With two league phase matches remaining, Villa sit third and are already assured of at least a play-off round berth.