By Tam McManus

11th Feb, 2023 | 2:15pm

Pundit digs at Unai Emery after under-the-radar Aston Villa development

Unai Emery has had an underwhelming impact at Aston Villa following his appointment in October.

That’s according to former Hibernian striker Tam McManus, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Emery’s impact.

Aston Villa sat 11th in the league after last weekend’s (4 February) 4-2 loss to Leicester City.

The Villains have moved well clear of the relegation zone following Emery’s appointment.

The former Arsenal coach left Villarreal to replace Steven Gerrard following a poor start to the season.

McManus has been underwhelmed by his impact.

“It’s gone under the radar but we haven’t seen the rapid improvement I was expecting,” McManus told Football Insider‘s Ben Wild.

“I certainly expected a lot more from them in January. It’s early days in the Emery era, I get that. But I wouldn’t say they are completely safe from relegation.

“That bottom half of the table is so tight. It just seems like Villa did really well when Emery came in and now they have just dropped off a bit.

“Some of the results have been really surprising. Emery has improved them but that’s not too hard when you consider how Gerrard had them playing.

“He even had the World Cup break to properly get his style down on the squad but I haven’t seen a huge difference in the way they play.

“It’s largely the same team so how much change you can expect, I don’t know. I don’t think this season matters to Villa really.

“They will probably be fine but they won’t get into Europe. It’s all about building and trying to build a new squad in the summer.”

In other news, Aston Villa expert issues “dangerous” Diego Carlos claim after latest.