By John Townley
Copyright birminghammail
Unai Emery doesn’t see fatigue as a factor in Morgan Rogers’ slow start to the season and remains confident the Aston Villa forward will soon rediscover his best level. Rogers showed flashes of brilliance while representing England earlier this month but has struggled to replicate the form he enjoyed last season at Aston Villa. He and Ollie Watkins were involved in 42 of the 58 goals Villa scored in the league last season, and both have come under scrutiny amid the club’s poor start to the current campaign. Emery’s side is yet to score in the league after four matches. This is Rogers’ second full season at Villa after joining from Middlesbrough in a deal worth just £15 million in January 2024. He made eight starts in the second half of the 2023/24 campaign, helping Villa secure a top-four finish. Last term, he played a pivotal role in Villa’s Champions League run, which ended in the quarter-finals against eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain. Rogers recorded seven goal involvements, including a hat-trick against Celtic. “He was playing two years ago in the Championship,” Emery reminded the press ahead of Villa’s clash against Sunderland on Sunday. “He started here playing in the Premier League and in Europe, also the Champions League. It is, for him, how he is reaching his demands. To keep it is the next challenge. “He is performing under the level he had, and he is, as well, trying to recover level — but getting balance.” Rogers has played 67 matches for club and country since the start of last season, playing the full 90 minutes on 44 occasions across all competitions. But Emery has refused to believe fatigue is a factor in Rogers’ slow start to the campaign. “Fatigue in September? That is difficult! He has played lots of matches, but for him, and other players as well, we played 54 matches last season. Adding the matches of the national team, maybe he played 60 or 65 matches,” Emery said. “We have to be aware how we manage every player for the season, but for now, he is so motivated. As well, he wants to start performing better with us. He is showing us each training session. “He is really anxious to recover his level. I am telling him to get balance and accept how we are improving. We are not getting the same level in every match, but be confident you will get the same level again.” Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content. Our dedicated reporter John Townley – who you can follow on X by clicking here – follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur – that’s why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you’ll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here . You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive’s Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club. If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here . Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here , while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here .
