Emery vows to move on after Villa's Carabao Cup exit

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery accepted the team's Carabao Cup fourth-round exit at Bournemouth but called on his squad to focus on the challenges ahead, with a Premier League fixture against Fulham next on the agenda.

Villa created chances on the south coast but were unable to convert them, and Emery acknowledged the side was not clinical enough to progress in the competition.

"We are disappointed," Emery said. "Since I arrived at Aston Villa we've played here four times, and we have won, we have drawn, and today we lost, but we played the same match like we played before."

The Spaniard pointed to positives in the performance, citing minutes for fringe players. "Move on, try to analyse and get positive things: Tyler playing, Marco Bizot playing, Goretzka playing, Garnacho as well having 30 minutes to play, getting confidence and understanding our structure," he said.

Emery was candid about the difficulties his side faced during the match. "We were struggling in the first minutes because they are always so intense. In the second half they started so, so intensely – we knew it and we were trying to avoid it."

With Villa out of the Carabao Cup, Emery shifted focus firmly to the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA Cup. "We have Fulham on Saturday, and Premier League is the priority. Then we have the Champions League and FA Cup," he said.

Emery also took time to thank the travelling supporters. "Now we're out and we say thank you to the supporters who were here with us, helping us, travelling from Birmingham to be with us. Thank you, and now we keep going forward."

Villa sit ninth in the Premier League table after eight matches, with three wins, two draws and three defeats.