'We have to be intelligent' - can Emery's Villa outwit big spenders?

At Unai Emery's unveiling, the Aston Villa manager stated his desire to win trophies.

Almost three years later he is still waiting and the task is getting harder.

Not that it worries the head coach.

"If we are complaining about working hard, we are not in the right way," Emery tells BBC Sport.

Villa have already learned quickly under Emery how to outthink rival teams, and the former Villarreal boss believes the club still rank behind seven others when it comes to financial muscle.

They upset the order in 2023-24 to qualify for the Champions League, and on the final day last season were in the top-five hunt until a controversial defeat at Manchester United forced them to settle for the Europa League.

Emery has raised standards and expectations at Villa Park, having succeeded Steven Gerrard in October 2022 when the team sat 14th and only three points above the Premier League relegation zone.

Saturday's Villa Park opener against Newcastle - the team who beat Villa to the final Champions League spot in May - represents a tough start but the sort Emery will relish.

Last season's implosion in the FA Cup semi-final to Crystal Palace stung more than most, especially after the Europa Conference League semi-final defeat to Olympiakos in 2024.

A thrilling Champions League quarter-final defeat to Paris St-Germain in April saw Villa compete with the best, but while they went close it was not close enough.

The gap is growing, especially with the club's financial limitations. Captain John McGinn has bemoaned the gulf between Villa and the 'big six', and Emery is still painting Villa as the underdog.

"We are not with the same capacity like Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham, Newcastle, Manchester City or Chelsea or Arsenal, but we have our power and we have to be positive and work hard with our capacity to be with them," says Emery.

"At the beginning they have the capacity to get something more.

"We are talking about a lot of teams who are spending a lot of money, but we are going to focus on ourselves. We are getting the belief, of course; we have to believe in our sporting objective through our capacity.

"You have to be intelligent against other teams who have more options than us to be in the top seven. We must be proud how we are building and being competitive."

Emery - a four-time Europa League winner - is Villa's biggest weapon.

Under his leadership they have have finished seventh, fourth and sixth, threatening to consistently crack the top five.

"To be in the Premier League in the position we are finishing in the last three years is fantastic," Emery says.

"We are thinking about how we did last year and trying to learn and avoid some mistakes we made.

"We were not being a competitive team like I want for one part of the season, mostly the first part. I will have to avoid it and try to be consistent.

"How we did the second part was amazing. We finished in the last 20 matches maybe second or third in the table. This is something we have to link in the season."

Emery references mistakes and he is right to say Villa need to find their consistent best again.

Should they avoid defeat against Newcastle, they will have gone a calendar year unbeaten at home in the Premier League.

Yet, for all their Villa Park success, they lost nine times on the road in the league last season - leaving them 11th in that particular form table, results which ultimately cost them a Champions League place.

Villa also conceded 51 times, and on that basis they had the worst-performing defence in the top six.

Only Brighton and Brentford shipped more among teams in the top half.

Newcastle beat Villa to fifth on goal difference and it was not close, with the Magpies 14 better off.

Although distracted by Alexander Isak's saga this summer, Newcastle have added winger Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest, external and defender Malick Thiaw from AC Milan for close to a combined £90m.

It is something Villa cannot compete with and they were fined €11million [£9.5m] by UEFA in July having been found to have a squad cost ratio above 80 per cent for 2024. That refers to the proportion of income that is paid out in wages.

Villa reported losses of £85.4m for 2023-24 and £119.6m for 2022-23, and failure to reach the Champions League cost them.

This is one of the reasons spending has been limited, with striker Evann Guessand at £30m the biggest arrival ahead of the new season.

Academy graduate Jacob Ramsey is on the verge of joining Newcastle for £40m - banking Villa pure profit.

Amid all this, Emery is content.

"Even selling some important players and not spending a lot of money like other teams are doing, I'm so happy how we are doing in the transfer window," he says at Villa's Bodymoor Heath training base.

"Of course Jacob Ramsey is leaving, but we have to accept it. If he is leaving it's a very good deal for the club, for the player and as a team. It's my responsibility as a manager to find a solution to get our performance through the players we have."

Villa fended off interest from Everton in influential skipper McGinn.

The Scotland international is happy and remains a key lieutenant for Emery.

But after Ramsey's exit there are likely to be other departures, including winger Leon Bailey who has flattered to deceive since a £25m move from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021.

Villa have not won a trophy for 29 years, since lifting the 1996 League Cup under Brian Little.

A 2015 FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal and the 2010 League Cup final loss to Manchester United are the closest they have come since.

Emery has been a winner, with his European titles and a Ligue 1 triumph with Paris St-Germain, and Villa fans still believe he is the key to success.

"There's always that concern in the sense of everyone's strengthened, teams are going to be more competitive - Tottenham, Manchester United," says Mo Razzaq, chair of Aston Villa's Supporters' Trust.

"You expect them to be a lot more stronger. Brighton, Brentford... it'll be interesting how they will do with a new manager.

"You've probably got, again, seven or eight teams trying to compete for three or four places so it can be very competitive.

"We know in Unai Emery we will be set up well, so it's just a case of having faith in the management and maybe we've got a bit of a blessing of being in the Europa compared to the Champions League.

"That's another tough competition, but we know Unai's got the pedigree, he knows the competition. We expect to compete well on all fronts, but [a trophy] is what's missing.

"We came close last season and Emery has done really well so far, but it's just that icing on the cake."