‘Hard worker’ Ollie Watkins praised by Unai Emery after scoring at Bournemouth

Unai Emery admitted he is “so, so grateful” to manage Ollie Watkins after the forward became Aston Villa’s outright record Premier League goalscorer to fire the club into Europe.

England international Watkins moved on to 75 top-flight strikes for Villa – one more than Gabriel Agbonlahor – by securing Saturday evening’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth.

A seventh victory in eight league games guaranteed a top-seven place for Emery’s side, meaning they will definitely play in continental competition next term.

Villa, who are chasing Champions League qualification via a top-five finish, leapfrogged Nottingham Forest into sixth spot and sit level on 63 points with fourth-placed Newcastle and Chelsea in fifth.

Speaking of Watkins’ record-breaking exploits, head coach Emery said: “It’s fantastic, brilliant.

“He deserves it completely because he is a hard worker. He is committed with Aston Villa.

“His courage has been fantastic and to achieve it is very fantastic. I am so, so grateful to have a player like him.”

Watkins, who joined from Brentford in 2020, touched home Morgan Rogers’ cross six minutes into first-half added time to settle the south-coast contest.

Villa were relatively comfortable at the Vitality Stadium until Jacob Ramsey’s 80th-minute dismissal for a second bookable offence set up a tense finale.

Match-winner Watkins told Sky Sports: “I think it is massive for us. There are a lot of teams that are pushing for Champions League spots and it is going down to the wire.

“Getting that goal to break the record for this club is massive and something I had my eye on when I came to the club. I said it in my first interview and it is a great achievement for me.”

As their quest for a top-five spot reaches a climax, Villa, who progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals this term, face Europa League finalists Tottenham and Manchester United in the final two weeks of the season.

Emery said: “(It’s) fantastic to be again in Europe, for the third year in a row: Conference League, Champions League, and this year Conference League, Europa League or Champions League.

“Of course we have a very ambitious objective.

“We will play matches for it and now I am really enjoying the team, I enjoy how we are competing, I am enjoying how the players are showing the commitment we need to fight again to be in the top positions in the table.”