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Aston Villa legend has his say on 'mini-slump' as Unai Emery told what to do in transfer window
Stiliyan Petrov has backed Unai Emery to guide Aston Villa out of their ‘mini-crisis’ but told his former club they have to strengthen in the January transfer window.
Emery has been in charge at Villa for two years and the trajectory has been almost universally upward. The club have gone from near the relegation zone into the Premier League top four and qualified for the Champions League. Next week they play Juventus, this time last year it was Legia Warsaw in the Europa League.
However, they have lost their last four games in all competitions, including a defeat to Club Brugge and a Carabao Cup exit and go into this weekend’s clash with Crystal Palace looking to regain momentum.
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"It’s maybe a mini-crisis [Aston Villa losing the last four games], but it's normal when you play so many games. Unai Emery has done an incredible job. Unai, his staff, the players - they've been amazing,” Petrov told Gambling.com.
"The fans have supported the club perfectly, they've got the right results, they’ve got nine points in the Champions League. You expect teams when they're playing at such a high level to drop in performances at certain times, and I hope that Unai Emery will find the solution and will turn everything around.
“They still have a chance to qualify straight to the knockout stages. They are sitting in a very comfortable position. And if they can manage to do that, then you never know. In the knockout stages anything can happen."
However, while Villa undoubtedly have more quality in their squad, Petrov, who played 219 games over six seasons at the club, admits they need more depth.
"When you’re fighting for the top four in the Premier League and you’re in the Champions League you have to strengthen in every area. Because this is probably the highest level of football, and when you have those demands, you have to strengthen. And I'm sure that they [Aston Villa] are working on it."
