Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “Delighted, Newcastle are an unbelievable team, third in the league for a reason and we created a lot of problems for them today.
“Unbelievable performance from the boys. Our home form is really good and we just need to keep pushing now.”
On scoring after 33 seconds: “Nice to see it hit the back of the net. A great start for us, it’s what we need in home games. Previously we’ve started a bit sloppy, maybe gone behind and had to work teams out and build up patiently. That wasn’t the case today. A quickfire goal which was nice.”
On hitting the woodwork: “I’ve hit the post quite a few times, it’s quite unfortunate. I can’t do too much more. I was fortunate that my first goal went in off the defenders leg and I needed a bit of luck with the others.”
On being a goal away from becoming Villa’s leading Premier League goalscorer: “It’s a great achievement for myself personally. You need to celebrate the little wins, how far I’ve come and how difficult it is to play consistently in the Premier League and score goals.
“I’m not letting anyone take that away from me. When I do it, I’ll enjoy it.”
On second-half performance: “Quickfire goals are the way to kill a game off. When you’re on top, really punish them and we did that today, we were really clinical. We had a lot of joy.”
On the next week: “It’s a really big week for us, Man City you never know what to expect, we can’t underestimate them, it’s going to be tough and we’ve got to win the games ahead because we want that Champions League spot.”
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “Very proud of how the players responded. At Villa Park we feel so strong with our supporters. Good, positive energy and now we are competing.
“Today was a match with every player available to play. That means three players missed out on the squad, I don’t like to leave three players out but it’s a necessity to improve and increase our competitive way for this match.”
On options from the bench: “We were missing it before and now, in the second half of the season, it’s strong.
“We had to improve, get better, try to add players that would help us, recover injured players and some players were not fit enough in certain moments – and now they are. The result is a consequence of this.
“In the second half they were pushing with fresh legs and we won through that.”
On using Champions League exit as motivation: “We have to feel angry when we are not winning. Of course, we enjoyed the Champions League, we have to be proud of our effort but we lost. Always when you lose, you have to be angry and respond.
“We have to focus clearly each match, each moment and be like today. I’m so happy with how we responded but now my thoughts are on the Manchester City match on Tuesday.”
Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall, speaking to Sky Sports: “I think when we look back again, maybe it was a step too far for the same group of players. We’ve had three games in six days and you’re going to play a top Villa side. We did OK in the second half but around 60 minutes it was a step too far.
“From our point of view, we weren’t happy with the goals conceded. We can’t fault the player’s attitude. We’re in a fantastic position. We’re third in the Premier League and we’ve got five cup finals remaining.
“You think the lads have put a huge effort in. Huge performance against Manchester United and then Crystal Palace. The tiredness crept in and maybe you start making errors you don’t usually make. They don’t mean to make mistakes. You always have to reflect and put things right and come back stronger like we’ve done in the past.
On Eddie Howe’s recovery: “He remains the same. With Eddie, it’s a day-by-day thing. When he feels right, he will speak to me. They’re the terms we’ve left it on. He’s in good hands and the main thing is he gets back and leads the team. We’ve not been together for probably a day or two in maybe 17 years. I certainly miss him, even more on days like this.
“We’re disappointed with the second-half performance but we have to understand it was the third game in six days. Now we go week to week so we refresh and work on the training ground to win games.”
