Ollie Watkins helped Aston Villa destroy Newcastle before revealing he was furious with Unai Emery for leaving him out of the Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
The club’s top scorer remained on the bench for all but the final 14 minutes of normal time last Tuesday, as Villa were knocked out by the French champions despite winning 3-2 on the night.
Recalled against the Magpies, who are now only two points above Emery’s men, Watkins scored inside a minute and played brilliantly to help Villa to a 4-1 victory – and told the world exactly what he thought of Emery’s selection policy afterwards.
‘I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games, so I’m not going to lie – I was fuming I wasn’t playing,’ Watkins said. ‘I let him (Emery) know that. He’s the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision. But I’m not one of the players happy to sit on the bench.
‘’It’s something I haven’t experienced before, missing out on the biggest stage. You always want to play, especially in the Champions League. Me and a few others are disappointed we didn’t start the game, but like I said, it’s the manager’s decision.
‘The team played really well, but I wanted to be out on the pitch much longer. I wanted to be starting in the important games because I’ve played a big part to get (Villa) to where we are today. Rather than let it hinder you, you have to use that anger as motivation.’
Ollie Watkins revealed he let Unai Emery know he was ‘fuming’ that he did not start either of Aston Villa’s Champions League quarter-final ties against PSG
Emery’s side lost 5-4 on aggregate as Watkins played less than 30 minutes across the two legs
The striker responded on Saturday by scoring and assisting in Villa’s 4-1 win over Newcastle
Villa are determined to add a forward in the summer, ideally a young player with a similar profile to Jhon Duran, who was sold to Saudi club Al-Nassr for £66.5million in the winter. They have a £40m option to buy Marcus Rashford from Manchester United, and they may consider trying to keep him on loan for the whole of next season.
Villa travel to Manchester City on Tuesday for another game likely to be crucial for their prospects of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. This win put them level on points with fifth-placed Nottingham Forest, who are at Tottenham on Monday/tomorrow.
Watkins added: ‘We are doing unbelievably now. We have to win all the games in front of us and win that Champions League spot.’
Emery said: ‘To be angry is fantastic. To play as he did today is what I want. He is a very good person, always respectful and his commitment is always very good. As a club, we have increased our level.
‘When I speak to every player, it’s about trying to understand where they are and it was a very good conversation. When he responds as he did today, I am so happy.’
With manager Eddie Howe still recovering from pneumonia, his assistant Jason Tindall took charge again. He added: ‘The most important thing for Eddie is that he rests and recovers and the more he does that, the sooner he’ll be with the team again.
‘We can’t lose sight of where we are. We are third in the Premier League with five games to go. At the start of the season, everyone would have been happy with that.’