Former Aston Villa striker Dwight Yorke believes that whether or not his old team can win trophies at the conclusion of the season will be greatly influenced by how they handle being viewed as championship contenders by the public and people outside the club.
With 38 points from their first 17 games, Villa under Unai Emery is in third place, one point behind current leaders Arsenal and ahead of the defending champions Manchester City. They overcame a goal behind to defeat Brentford on Sunday, and they have triumphed in their last three league games, including ones against those teams.
Even the most optimistic Villa supporter would not have been aware of Villa’s title credentials prior to a single game, but with just slightly more than half of the season remaining, they are still in a strong position to upset the top flight balance of power. This attention grows for Villa with each successful outcome, both inside and outside the club.
Yorke is thrilled to see his former team succeeding, but he is aware from his time winning the Premier League with Manchester United that how Villa handles pressure in the future, should they continue to be in the running in the upcoming weeks and months, will be crucial in determining their future.
“Aston Villa has demonstrated their ability to defeat the top teams in the league, which indicates that they are competitive,” he said to MegaDice.com. “They simply lost to the top two from last season. Since Villa hasn’t played many teams that aren’t fish & chip wrappers, it would be absurd to exclude them. That, in my opinion, says a lot about how excellent they are.
Villa hasn’t been in this situation before, so we’re not sure how things will work out. When you start to emerge as serious candidates, the pressure mounts, and even if more and more people are beginning to take notice of them, they’re still a little under the radar. As expectations rise, it will be interesting to watch how Villa responds to them. That will allow us to gauge their true quality.
It’s wonderful to see Villa doing so well because I attended for almost ten years. I know the proprietors of the club are very ambitious, and I have a great deal of passion for it. With a rich history, the stadium is among the best in England. Now that they’re at the same level as the big boys, let’s see how they get along. We have a lot to learn during the next month.
Villa suffered throughout the latter part of Steven Gerrard’s reign; they have completely changed under Emery. They are among the favourites to win the competition after securing a Europa Conference League campaign this year, led by Emery, a multiple European winner. As such, they are in a good position to advance to one of
Given his success at Aston Villa, Unai Emery has to be compared to the finest managers in the league, such as Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. Yorke went on, “He’s been outstanding in the Conference League as well as the Premier League.His reputation was somewhat damaged by his unsatisfactory tenure at Arsenal. It seemed as though he wasn’t suited for the Premier League, but this time, he’s come back stronger. He obviously took lessons from his time at Arsenal, and when he joined Villa, he knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish: get the team back into Europe.
