Aston Villa go into Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg on the back of three defeats
11:45, 05 May 2026Updated 13:01, 05 May 2026
Tim Sherwood has blasted Villa’s performance against Tottenham(Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Tim Sherwood has criticised Aston Villa’s back-ups after they flopped in the 2-1 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday – and claims by picking them Unai Emery has sent a message to the club’s owners about next season.
The Villa boss made seven changes to his starting XI and watched as it was completely overwhelmed by a Spurs side in survival mode. Villa were 2-0 down inside 25 minutes and even their last minute consolation from Emi Buendia came in front of a half-empty stadium.
And former Villa boss Sherwood has savaged their display, albeit one which was sandwiched in between the two-leg Europa League semi-final, with Villa needing to beat Nottingham Forest on Thursday to reach the final in Istanbul later this month.
“I thought they were very, very poor.” Sherwood told Sky Sports News. “I’m going to give credit to Tottenham, I thought they suffocated them, I thought they were very aggressive in the press – and they [Villa] were ponderous in the build-up.
“But it’s always a problem when managers make so many changes, we know the big game is Nottingham Forest in the second leg on Thursday night, so he needed to rest some players.
“It was almost the ones who went on the pitch, there’s an opportunity for them to play in the Europa League final possibly, if there’s injuries to his main 11, then there’s a chance for them to play – they never showed up.
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“So the manager would be looking at it and saying ‘Let’s just hope we keep our main men fit’. And the likes of Morgan Rogers, who’s one of my favourite players in the Premier League, who played – I’m using him as an example – they looked like they were sulking that they were actually playing.
“Because the guys like McGinn and Konsa, they sat it out, they rested. It’s almost like they’re looking to the manager Unai Emery and saying ‘Why are you not resting me? Why am I not that important to you?’
“You are important, but that performance yesterday was not good enough for any team to play in front of them. I’ve been there at Villa Park, they demand there and quite rightly so, it’s a huge football club. The big game is Thursday, I believe there’s going to be a wonderful game of football…
“For me, Unai Emery is a masterful manager. I love him to death. He’s won it four times, I think he’ll win it five times, I think they’ll win the Europa League. Whoever wins this tie between Nottingham Forest and Villa will win the Europa League in my opinion.”
Sherwood has, though, rejected complaints from West Ham about the changes Emery made and the suggestion their relegation rivals benefitted from facing a ‘weakened team’.
Instead he focuses on the impression that Emery’s back-ups are not good enough to fight on two fronts next season.
“They [West Ham] are going to be unhappy, but I think every club has got to look after themselves.
“A manager can’t look at other teams’ problems, it’s up to West Ham, it’s up to Tottenham to get themselves out of this relegation battle, then they haven’t got to worry about what other teams are doing.
“The game fell correctly for Tottenham. They rested players because the priority is the Thursday night, and they took advantage of that. You still have to play the game and take advantage.
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“So no, I think they’re entitled to do whatever they want as a manager and as a football club, they have to look after Aston Villa and no one else.
“They had no rhythm, but he’s given an opportunity to other players who can go and prove that they’re good enough to play in his first team, and they never showed up.
“Maybe he’s making a point to the hierarchy that our first XI are pretty good and they’ve shown all season, they’ve been competitive in the Europa League and in the Premier League, and I think they’re pretty much nailed on to qualify for the Champions League next season.
“And he’s making a point ‘I’m giving this opportunity because I can, because there’s a luxury of where we are in the league with a six point cushion, I’m giving the opportunity to those in reserve, and those in reserve are not good enough’.
“He’s making a point to the hierarchy ‘We’re going to need some help next season, especially if we’re in the big league, in the Champions League, and you want us to be competitive in the Premier League. This squad ain’t good enough’. There’s so many players who never turned up.”