What Dean Smith did after Aston Villa win as Unai Emery responds to Premier League title question
Latest Aston Villa news from BirminghamLive as Unai Emery's side claim their 11th consecutive home league victory after beating West Ham 4-1 at Villa Park
Our dedicated Aston Villa reporter is always on the pulse of all things claret and blue, from major talking points to transfer news to match action, John Townley will bring you the very latest from Bodymoor Heath and Villa Park.
Aston Villa thrashed West Ham 4-1 at Villa Park on Sunday to lay down another marker in their pursuit of Champions League football, even if Unai Emery has played down his side's chances of qualifying for the competition this season.
In 2023, only Manchester City (74) and Arsenal (62) have amassed as many Premier League points as his Villa (62) side, as they claimed their 11th consecutive league win at home by beating the Hammers. This season, Villa have handed out a few thrashings having scored 17 goals in their first four league games at home and have now netted at least three goals in each of their opening four league matches of a season at Villa Park for the first time since 1920-21.
Douglas Luiz opened the scoring in the first half before then doubling Villa's advantage from the penalty spot just after half-time. Jarrod Bowen's deflected strike then momentarily reduced West Ham's deficit, as Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey got in on the act for Villa before full-time.
READ | Unai Emery Q&A: Every word Aston Villa boss said about West Ham win, Luiz and Watkins
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Here are the talking points from Villa's latest big win...
UNAI EMERY'S VERDICT
Emery will celebrate his first 12 months in charge of Villa on Tuesday and this is a very important week for him. On the back of another key win at Villa Park, his side travel to AZ Alkmaar - who are unbeaten in the Eredivisie so far this season - in midweek before hosting Luton Town next weekend. Two positive results this week will mark an excellent start to the campaign.
The Villa head coach has previously admitted the Premier League is his priority this term, even if he is determined to win silverware in Europe with the club. It's encouraging for Villa's league objective that they have made light work of European chasing rivals Brighton and West Ham in the early weeks of the season, despite being challenged with several injury issues.
"We are facing very good players, very good teams," Emery told BBC Sport after beating West Ham. "When they scored, we reacted very well.
"That's my demands with the players. Try to be consistent with our game plan and, with our scoring, we have to keep going. When we concede goals, we have to react quickly to recover our positioning and our game plan."
He added: "For me to play at home is always something special. We are feeling very good at home. We have to believe and always connect with the fans.
"We tried to add to the support and energy. We are trying to be positive and play in our style. We have to be focused and strong defensively, but then create a bigger noise with the fans by making them feel they are playing with us."
OLLIE WATKINS POPS UP WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
Smith was trusted to splash £30million to land Watkins in the summer of 2020, which at the time raised eyebrows. The former Brentford striker hadn't kicked a ball in the top-flight of English football before his big-money switch. His price tag is now worth more than double the cost which Villa paid for his services three years ago.
The 27-year-old has been directly involved in 27 goals across his 33 appearances in the Premier League since Emery’s first game in charge. Only Mo Salah and Erling Haaland have contributed to more goals in this time. His latest strike - which rocketed past Alphonse Areola to restore Villa's two-goal cushion - downed West Ham at a point in the game when the visitors were pushing for an equaliser.
"I wouldn't say it was up to me, iIt was a crucial time when I scored," Watkins said on Sky Sports. "They came out quickly and put pressure on us. The goal came at a crucial time and made the team a bit calmer, I would say.
"I like to run down the left-hand side especially. I feel like that's my game, really, when I'm one-on-one with the defender. A few stepovers! That's what I want, to be able to work my magic.
"If I was to come inside then my shot is probably going to get blocked by others supporting and I think that's what Kurt Zouma was expecting. By going on the outside, it's only him. Not a bad finish!
Watkins added: "It's definitely a mindset with me. The gaffer has always had faith in me here. I've always beaten myself up a little bit or get onto myself if I haven't scored.
"I missed that chance earlier in the game but I didn't let it get on top of me. I know I will get chances. Earlier in my career I probably would have kept thinking about that."
JAMES WARD-PROWSE'S HONEST REFLECTION
West Ham midfielder James Ward-Prowse thought his side's heavy defeat at Villa Park was a reality check.
"I think it was an entertaining match for the neutral," he told BBC Sport. "We had a few chances in the first half in certain moments and a few individual errors. We know collectively as team we can do a lot better than that.
"Just a bad day and one that we go away now and reflect on and become hard to beat again. It's in West Ham's DNA, that ability to not be beaten easily.
"There's so many games in the season. It's important that you don't dwell on it but we will have a good look at what went wrong and make sure we show a reaction in the next game."
He added: "This club wants to be in [the top 6] of the table, challenging. I think today is a good realisation of what it takes to be at that level. As long as we come away from this knowing what needs to be done to get in there, it will be a valuable day come the end of the season if we learn from it."