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Unai Emery celebrated his three-year anniversary at Aston Villa this week. The Spaniard has enjoyed considerable success as manager, steering the club away from relegation trouble in his first season and even securing European qualification just months after his arrival. After reaching the semi-finals of the Conference League , Villa went on to seal a place in the Champions League with a fourth-place finish in the 2023/24 season. Few expected Villa to reach the last eight of UEFA’s elite club competition. They had Paris Saint-Germain on the ropes in the second leg, beating the eventual winners 3-2 at home, but ultimately going out on aggregate. A return to the Champions League slipped away on the final day in dramatic fashion. Morgan Rogers scored what appeared to be a legal goal, but referee Thomas Bramall disallowed it for a foul on Altay Bayindir, leaving VAR powerless to intervene. Finishing sixth, given how far Villa progressed in the Champions League and FA Cup , was still seen as a success. However, Emery is now targeting silverware to mark his tenure at Villa Park. “Very proud of how the club, supporters, and players, how we have the commitment together with our idea, demands, following being very, very demanding and consistent,” Emery said of his three years in charge so far. “I am a better coach than three years ago and I am thankful for the players for helping me get better as a coach. I’m also thankful for the club for helping me and making me better with the opportunity I have to manage here. “With the result we are getting, of course, playing in Europe something I appreciate a lot. It is giving us another level. Conference League semi-final, Champions League quarter-final and now we are in the Europa League . “We are focusing on the priority through the Premier League, to be top 10, top seven, top five. Achieving it is the successful way we did, collectively and individually, each one can feel like I am feeling myself - proud of everything we did. “The owners are very important how they are supporting me and the club. There is still work to do and still objectives to set and hard work to achieve them. One of them is some titles. Premier League, the cups in England and in Europe are the targets we can set. We are in this way.” Villa have been installed as early favourites to win the Europa League this season but suffered a shock defeat to Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday, having previously beaten Bologna and Feyenoord in their first couple of league phase fixtures. After winning their previous five matches in all competitions, Emery was asked whether the defeat in Deventer represented a backward step. “A little bit, because when you win in the last matches, it gives you confidence, but you are closer to losing again,” he explained. “It was not a surprise to lose for me and the players, because we have had experiences in Europe, and away. “Each year we have had a defeat like that. Legia Warsaw two years ago, last year Brugge and this year it was yesterday. Of course, there are still matches to play and I want to learn. “For me, everything that happened is learning for us. Also, reminding us of similar circumstances. Why? Because we were favourite, we dominated and made chances, but you can still lose. “Sometimes we have less chances and win, but sometimes that then happens to us. Even losing, we have been consistent in the Europa League. We have played three matches and we have six points. “Our objective is to be in the top 24 at the beginning and then the top eight to avoid once round. We are learning about different issues, collectively, individually and tactically. We have got a lot of information, and we have now broken our good form. We are now parking the Europa League and focusing on Manchester City on Sunday.” 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. 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