‘It doesn’t excite me’ – Unai Emery to Aston Villa described as being ‘left-field’ with supporters ‘underwhelmed’ by Steven Gerrard’s successor

Unai Emery is 'not an exciting appointment' for Aston Villa, according to Ally McCoist.

The Spanish head coach was appointed as replacement for Steven Gerrard following his sacking last week and will start his duties with the club on November 1.

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The 50-year-old is best known to supporters in the Premier League due to his spell as Arsene Wenger's successor at Arsenal, a reign that last just 18 months as Emery failed to qualify for the Champions League during his only full season in charge.

Since then, Emery has really impressed during his time with Villarreal, taking his tally of Europa League trophies to four, but according to legendary Scottish striker McCoist, the appointment is still underwhelming.

Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, McCoist said: “I’m not [convinced] and it’s wrong because he’s a good manager and a good coach, but it just doesn’t excite me.

“I don’t know why I’m saying that, it might be a little bit unfair because he’s got a great record and I’d be interested to hear the Arsenal fans’ opinions on him because he can clearly manage and he can certainly coach and he’s successful, I’m just not sure that it excites me for the Villa fans.

“I hope they go on and do well, I really do. Is it a good move? Probably. Is it an exciting move? No.”

Danny Murphy also delivered his verdict on the appointment and believes that while he wasn't impressed with Emery during his time with Arsenal, he is backing him to do well if he can learn from his 'tactical ill-discipline' last time out.

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He said: "In the Premier League he had a little spell at Arsenal where it all went well and then the wheels came off and I saw a very tactically ill-disciplined Arsenal team in that no one seemed to know what they were doing and they were all over the place.

“The one thing that I would say I’ve seen in his teams with Villarreal, Sevilla and his Arsenal team at times, they do play good football and they do try to win games.

“I don’t think that Villa fans have to worry about that, they’ll play the right way and he’ll try to win football matches. He’s not the pragmatic type and so that’s a positive in terms of a spectacle, but maybe he has learned.

“We’ve seen Marco Silva this year at Fulham produce a team that’s adaptable compared and has learned from times during previous spells in this league so I’ll give anybody a fair crack of the whip.

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“I just thought that it was a little bit left-field to get somebody whose last job in this league was deemed a failure.”

talkSPORT Breakfast also spoke to midlands correspondent Tom Ross who suggested that Villa fans weren't too impressed by the appointment.

He said: "I think that a lot of Villa fans are underwhelmed because they do get influenced by the thoughts of people like yourselves, but when you look at it Unai Emery’s win ratio at Arsenal was something like 55% and Arteta’s is 57%, that’s how close they are.

“I just believe that time is shorter than money for managers in the Premier League.

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“They do have a lot of a lot of ability in that team, that’s for sure, but when you’ve won 13 out of 40 I think that Steven Gerrard knew that the axe was hovering, but that win ratio of 30% was a problem.

“In his defence the team that got rid of Dean Smith was the team that he ended up with but for me the team has got ability. Against Brentford they played with energy and pace in a 4-2-3-1, so they’ve got it in the team, how does he get it out of them in a regular basis and that’s the biggest question for all coaches.

“They’re buzzing after a win and he doesn’t start until November 1, but you can put in who you like, it’s the reaction of the players that will make the difference.”