Unai Emery throws down the gauntlet to his Aston Villa players to prove they are title contenders – as he admits he doubted their ‘mentality’ after draw with Ipswich

Unai Emery has challenged Aston Villa to prove they are true winners by keeping pace with the Premier League title contenders this weekend.

Villa are four points behind league leaders Liverpool after a fine start to the season both at home and in Europe. Their win over Bologna on Tuesday left Villa top of the redesigned Champions League table and optimism among supporters is sky-high ahead of Saturday’s clash with Bournemouth at Villa Park.

Yet Emery was so disturbed by Villa’s attitude in their 2-2 draw with Ipswich on September 29 that he read the riot act to the players and left them in no doubt that he will not tolerate a repeat.

‘The biggest teams and players approach every game to win it,’ said Emery. ‘When your own team does the same, that’s when you can feel stronger.

‘You have to demand the players improve their mentality all the time. We have some examples here. At Ipswich, I had some doubts about whether we showed the mentality I want.

Unai Emery has urged his players to prove their status as title contenders when they face Bournemouth

Aston Villa have enjoyed a strong start to the campaign, and currently sit top of the Champions League table

But Emery admitted he doubted his side’s resolve when they were held to a draw by Ipswich

‘I have talked to the players about this a lot and I don’t want to repeat it. We can win, draw or lose but we have to play to win and show how hungry we are.’

Emery is approaching his two-year anniversary as Villa boss – a remarkable stint in which he has transformed the club. Struggling when he took over from Steven Gerrard, Emery has turned Villa into one of the best sides in the country.

He added: ‘Hopefully we will keep improving. My first demand was to play in Europe again, which we achieved. My second was to win a trophy.’