"Very happy. We achieved something really good last year. Now we’re here playing Champions League. We’re really excited to get going in this competition. "There was always an ambitious plan before I signed. That’s why I came to Villa. It’s maybe earlier than expected in the project but we’ve had some really good performances and now we’re here and we’ll try and make the most of it. "Because that was one of his [Emery’s] goals when he joined the club as well and that’s how he set it out to me before signing. It was a real big goal for him to achieve. Now we want to carry on. We don’t only want to participate in this, we really want to make our mark in the competition. "We’ve got some really big games and tomorrow is the start of it. We want to make the most of it, hopefully we can get a win here but it is very difficult. "It’s basically the more points you get and hopefully being in the first eight you qualify from that. "We all know the schedule will be very busy. There are at least two more games, we will have to manage our recovery times and pick up as few injuries as possible. It’s true the schedule is very busy. "Football is a demanding sport, we know there are more and more competitions. Football is getting tougher every year, it’s taking its toll on the body but we have to make the most of our recovery moments and to hopefully perform on the pitch. Sometimes it’s very hard but it’s what we love to do. Having a good pre-season. "We’ve got some experience from Europe last year and be even tougher this year being in the biggest European club competition. We’ll have to do better than we did last year, missing out on the final will be tough. "Everyone wants to play and we’ve seen how many injuries we had towards the end last year and everyone had a part to play last season. Everyone has to be ready, everyone wants to play but the manager is there to make the decisions. The subs have played their part in the squad winning games in the last couple of weeks. "I wouldn’t say concerned, but we all in our youth careers played on astro turf before. When you get used to Premier League pitches and good grass it’s different. We’re training here to get ready for the surface and no excuses tomorrow. "Inside the changing room he [Jhon Durán] has always been the same guy, really funny and his own character. He’s doing his talking on the pitch at the moment, he’s focused and working hard and doing what everyone asks and he’s doing really well for us at the moment." Youri Tielemans pre-match. "My condolences to the family and all the supporters at Villa [on the passing of Gary Shaw aged 63]. "We have a memory always, in our training ground a picture of 1982 and the European Cup, he was a protagonist of that. My condolences to them. "I think it's sad and we can use it as motivation." "We are going to adapt [to the synthetic pitch]. "We changed a little bit our usual way for playing in Europe. "Normally we have a training session in Birmingham and travel. But we decided to come to train here, to know and to adapt for the synthetic pitch. "We're ready and we won't use it as an excuse. I think we can play with the same personality like we do at home." Unai Emery pre-match. “We are demanding of ourselves and we want to keep the same spirit we had last year to compete. “We will be competitive. I have experiences in different European competitions and we competed very well three years ago with Villarreal, getting to the semi-finals. It was fantastic, but now my new challenge is to do something similar with Aston Villa. “I don’t know about getting to quarter-finals or semi-finals, but we have to be competitive and play each match facing the best teams in the world. The players have to be very demanding. We have changed some players in the squad, trying to get balance and developing in the direction we want to move forward in, getting better every year. “It’s our dream, it was our dream when we started the season to be here. “To play in the Champions League is, after the Premier League, the best. “You can play in the Premier League against the best teams in the world, it’s very difficult. When you are playing in the Champions League you are playing against the best teams, at the same time, from other countries. And it’s amazing. “And we are always responsible about the history here, we know the history of Aston Villa is so long and so successful." Unai Emery pre-match. "Tonight was a good performance, not just from myself but from my team. "It feels really good - it's amazing. We can enjoy tonight and focus on the next game. "I'm very excited. Every game's going to be really tough. This new format makes it even tougher. "It's going to come down to the details in the end, after the eight games. it's going to be tough." Youri Tielemans post-match. "This victory is for Gary Shaw. "We [continued in] the Champions League the way they finished 42 years ago. We want to dedicate this victory to Gary Shaw and his family. "It was difficult. Our experiences last year [in the Europa Conference League] show that. We focused very well for 90 minutes to be consistent. We were adapting on the pitch. We always respected them. "We have to create a new way. What we created in the Conference League last season was fantastic." Unai Emery post-match. "I didn't see it exactly. ”He scored a goal and he was there and of course the supporters were beside him. Of course, if he ran to the side with our supporters it would be better! "I can tell as well the reaction of our supporters - sharing with us the first match in the Champions League for a long time. And we won today for Gary Shaw and the supporters - we all pulled for Aston Villa in that moment. “We are working, more or less two years with every player since arriving in December a year and a half ago, we are trying to be and create extra mentality inside the players, the commitment that they have here, to be mature and be responsible and be respectful inside and outside. "This is the way I know we have to continue doing. Some players being young they take time to get mature and responsible 100 per cent. "We are now fixing only on this moment, I think it is not fair, we are speaking about 90 minutes, how is he playing, how he continued improving, things like that. I am involved with the players about his work and his behaviour but I think it’s not serious. It’s not very serious." Unai Emery on Jhon Durán.