Unai pulls no punches as 'lazy' Villa trip over Cats

MANAGER Unai Emery charged down the tunnel before full-time and later claimed his players were “lazy at times” as Villa's early-season woes continued with a 1-1 draw against ten-man Sunderland.

- By JOHN TOWNLEY

With seconds left to play, Emery shook the hand of opposite number Regis Le Bris before marching back to the dressing room at the Stadium of Light.

His mood was not helped by the way Villa squandered the chance to secure their first victory of the Premier League campaign.

They looked to have been given a major helping hand in the first half when Reinildo Mandava was sent off for kicking out at Matty Cash following a tackle on the touchline.

And when Cash put Villa ahead in the second half, it seemed they were on course to secure their first three points of the season.

But the Black Cats produced a spirited fightback and Wilson Isidor scored an equaliser to set up a tense finale. Emery decided he had seen enough in the final stages of stoppage time as the club remain in the bottom three.

“We are not playing like I want,” he said. “We have to adapt some new players in the structure, and we will need time with them. Others know we want to control the game with the ball.

“Their chances started with their goalkeeper. Long balls and second actions in our box. Like that, we are conceding chances. We had one player more. We didn’t control the game doing passes, and passes, and passes. We did not take the right moment to attack them.

“We have to recover our identity. I am not frustrated with the result, but disappointed and frustrated about how we are playing. We are not feeling comfortable with our style. We have to try to recover our personality and confidence to play like we are training.