“We are not contenders to be in the top five,” Emery said last month.
“There are other teams with more potential than us.”
That was followed by silence when he was asked why other teams had more Champions League potential than Villa.
Yet Villa have continued to outstrip expectation after making their worst start to a Premier League season in 28 years with just two points and no goals after four games.
Emery is their biggest asset, having raised the levels and standards at the club since replacing Steven Gerrard in November 2023.
Having taken them to the Champions League for the first time since 1982-83, when it was the European Cup – and then to last season’s quarter-finals – workaholic Emery has transformed Villa.
Of the managers who have taken charge of more than 100 Premier League games, he sits 10th, having earned 1.8 points per game during his 179 games with Arsenal and Villa.
And of the nine above him, only Mikel Arteta, who succeeded Emery at the Gunners, is not a title winner, with Pep Guardiola top on 2.28 points per game.
Emery has improved players, signing Morgan Rogers for £16m from Middlesbrough – when he was not even a guaranteed starter for Boro – and turning him into an England regular within two years.
He drives the players, meticulously planning, and while Villa’s performances have not been exceptional this season, they have found ways to win consistently.
According to Opta, Villa should be 12th – they have an expected points score of 33.8 – demonstrating how Emery has got them overperforming.
He is now doing it without Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and captain John McGinn after losing all three to injury last month while battling financial restrictions as Villa look to comply with Premier League and Uefa rules.
Emery is also trying to end Villa’s 30-year trophy drought, with winning the Europa League a real possibility.
“We are setting our standards high and sometimes we can become frustrated because we are not achieving during the process some results,” Emery said.
“But overall, our consistency is still there and our demand is still there.
“If we are third, it is because we are being consistent and we are being demanding.
“Of course, maybe we can change something but tactically and in our idea of how we are building the team, everything we built before makes sense.
“It is not easy now to change everything. No, it is completely wrong if we are feeling that.”
