Unai Emery responds to 'strange' Aston Villa start and explains revival plan

Unai Emery acknowledges Aston Villa's campaign has felt a little strange but remains optimistic about their potential this season.

Villa have kicked off the league campaign without victory and are yet to find the net, following clashes with Newcastle United, Brentford, Crystal Palace, and Everton.

Transfer deadline day acquisition Harvey Elliott broke the club's scoring drought in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening, providing some respite.

• Aston Villa injury update ahead of Sunderland clash
• Unai Emery addresses key Aston Villa question and makes Netflix admission

Nevertheless, Aaron Hickey levelled for Brentford, who subsequently triumphed in the penalty shootout.

Villa now confront the task of playing five fixtures in merely 14 days, including two Europa League encounters against Bologna and Feyenoord.

Up next for Emery's squad is a journey to Sunderland, followed by consecutive home league clashes against Fulham and Burnley.

When questioned whether Villa's opening to the season has felt peculiar, Emery confessed: "A little bit. A little bit. But keep going. I've had lots of [difficult] moments, even here. Three years ago we lost three matches in a row to Arsenal, Leicester and Man City.

"In that moment, I was focusing on our reaction. Today is the same. We have started four matches with circumstances we had. Now we are progressively getting better, and the last two matches, I felt that progress.

"Now we are working, and we are working really hard and focusing on how we are and what we have to do."

Emery stated: "We are Aston Villa with our circumstances, and we were in a different moment two or three years ago. We are going to start the Europa League next week, and we have a lot of positive things in front of us.

"I am excited to keep and recover consistency in the Premier League, and then there are other competitions. The Europa League is something so special for us."

Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.