Unai Emery has refuted suggestions that Aston Villa will struggle to summon the energy for next week’s Champions League showdown against Bayern Munich following a breathless 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town on Sunday.
The Villans took a point from Portman Road after an intense and draining clash, but they had to withstand some heavy second half pressure from Kieran McKenna’s men.
Villa return to action on Wednesday when they take on the German giants – who played on Saturday so have an extra day’s rest – in their first home game in Europe’s elite club competition since 1983.
‘We are going to suspend the match on Wednesday then,’ Emery joked. ‘We are going to ask for one more week to rest.
‘What do we want? We want to play in Europe. We want to play in matches on Sunday and Wednesday and to get to the same levels as City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham.
Unai Emery insisted his side must adapt to the challenges of playing Champions League football
Villa will play host to Bayern Munich in their first Champions League fixture at home in 40 years on Wednesday
‘If you don’t want it, OK. We are not playing in Europe and resting all week. It’s the challenge we have for the players, myself, the supporters, even the journalists.
‘If we don’t want to play at this level, we are going to get comfortable playing in the top 10. This is our challenge and my demands as well. But, on Wednesday, every player is going to be fantastic.’
Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers both scored on Sunday to continue their good form, but Villa’s performance dipped in the second half and they were perhaps lucky to escape with the point.
And Emery admitted he had no qualms about the result, but insisted his side must keep learning and developing from tough games like this.
‘The result is fair,’ he added. ‘We are in a process as a team where we can build our mentality, tactically, and with some new players getting better.
Emery’s side were forced to settle for a point against a spirited Ipswich side at Portman Road
‘We controlled the match like we were planning in the first half, but we need to be consistent in controlling the game like we didn’t do (in the second half).
‘They are good and we could’ve lost the match at the end. I’m not accepting the result in my idea of raising our levels and demands, but I accept it in the process.’
Meanwhile, Kieran McKenna was pleased with his side’s display after Liam Delap’s two goals helped them to secure their fourth successive draw, although Ipswich are still chasing a first Premier League win of the season.
‘We feel like we’re really competitive in every game,’ he said. ‘Each game is different and it’s not like we need an extra two per cent and we will win. It’s not a linear line and we have to start from scratch every week.
‘But there’s more good things in each performance and today was the most clear chances that we’ve created.
Kieran McKenna insisted he hopes his side’s performance will be the catalyst for them this season
‘That’s a big positive. We know the first step for us is being competitive every week, going toe-to-toe with teams and being in the game, to give us the chance to get a win.
‘We’re going to have to do that for all 38 games and it doesn’t get any easier. But we’ll go with a lot of the same characteristics from today and hopefully the results will give us what we deserve at the end of the season.’
