What a difference a year makes for Aston Villa
- Published
Aston Villa left Manchester at the end of last season with a sense of frustration and failure.
Controversially denied a Champions League spot - Morgan Rogers' goal dramatically ruled out before Emi Martinez was sent off in defeat by Manchester United which cost them a top four place, external - Villa went back down the M6 fuming.
This time, days after their Europa League win in Istanbul against Freiburg,, external the mood is totally different.
Back in the Champions League - having guaranteed a top-five spot in the Premier League - and having ended a 30-year trophy drought with a European title, it is party time.
Fans packed Birmingham for Thursday's parade - following the 20,000 who made the trip to Turkey - with Villa potentially entering a defining period in their history.
They are still expected to sell a major player - Rogers the most likely to generate cash to comply with Profit and Sustainability regulations - and a summer of change is expected.
There is an acknowledgement the squad needs reshaping and several departures are expected so the transfer window is crucial to help Villa and Unai Emery carve their future.
Emery will be given the trust - as he has always been - to make the changes he feels are needed.
He has brought Villa the success they so desperately craved and after last season's sense of injustice, which then bled into a wretched start this term, time is a great healer.
