Emery hopes Aston Villa can go further in FA Cup

The third round of the 2024/25 FA Cup will usher in another battle, and Aston Villa will host West Ham at home. Coach Emery said at the press conference that he hopes the team's competitiveness in this game can be improved, and he also looks forward to the team going further in this event.

With Ross Barkley and Leon Bailey scoring, Aston Villa defeated Leicester 2-1 in the last round of the Premier League, successfully preparing for the upcoming FA Cup.

Aston Villa manager Emery said in an interview, "We will participate in the FA Cup tomorrow, and our goal is to be the protagonist of this game. One of our goals is to become a contender for the championship, because the winning team can participate in the UEFA Europa League next season."

"We will be playing at home and we will also be working hard to build the squad and the structure and set clear goals for the second half of the season."

Emery also said, “We didn’t gain anything in the previous FA Cup, but this is a process. This is not a real frustration. Losing is always frustrating, but this is football. We will start from the current situation. Our goal tomorrow is to improve our competitiveness and perform better than in the past two years. We must strive to go further this season and increase our chances of trophies and European qualifications.”

On the other hand, after Lopetegui was fired, Graham Potter was appointed as the new head coach. Speaking of West Ham head coach Potter, Emery said, "West Ham certainly has very outstanding players, and this is also an excellent club. Changing the head coach is not good news, but it is an opportunity for him."

"We will respect Seaham and respect him because he has had success in England. He has a lot of experience and I am sure he will do a good job."