Exclusive: Matty Cash on ‘fantastic’ Unai Emery influence, World Cup ambitions and reliving THAT 7-2 win against Liverpool
Published 31/10/2025 at 12:09 GMT
Matty Cash sat down with TNT Sports for an exclusive interview ahead of Aston Villa's trip to Premier League champions Liverpool, which will be shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+. The defender candidly discussed several topics a week after scoring the winning goal against Manchester City and signing a new deal at Villa Park. Cash also talked about his World Cup ambitions next summer.
Highlights: Buendia, McGinn strike as Villa make it two wins from two
Video credit: TNT Sports
What a start to the season it has been for Matty Cash.
The 28-year-old scored Aston Villa's first Premier League goal of the season, stepped up with the winner against Manchester City on Saturday before signing a brand-new deal at Villa Park.
After missing out on the FA Cup final to eventual winners Crystal Palace as well as failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League on the final day of last season, Cash is ready to bring success back to the West Midlands club.
Speaking to TNT Sports in an exclusive interview, the Poland international detailed why he felt it was the right time to extend his time at the club.
"It’s fantastic to commit my future to the football club," he said. "I’ve been here for a little while now, so I’m delighted to have many more years here.
"There were a lot of key factors behind my decision - I absolutely love playing here, I feel really settled, and obviously the manager played a big part in my decision after being as successful as we have as a group.
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"The fans played a part too and I know I’ve had my tough times with them, but I just want to keep improving, playing well and, hopefully, we can enjoy more success as a club."
The Villans endured an underwhelming start to the campaign, after failing to win any of their opening six matches in all competitions.
However, Cash's long-range strike in a 1-1 draw at Sunderland followed by a narrow win over Bologna in the UEFA Europa League were the catalyst for Villa's upturn in results.
Villa have enjoyed a four-game winning streak in the Premier League since then, but the defender refuses to get carried away with the team's return to form.
"We want to try and win a trophy and do well in the Premier League, but we’re taking every game as it comes," he said.
"I know that sounds cliché, but everyone has spoken about it, and we just want to take everything day-by-day and try and win as many games as we can."
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Highlights: Captain McGinn leads Villa to victory
Video credit: TNT Sports
'I wanted to take the headlines'
If Cash continues on his scoring spree this season, Villa are likely to win far more matches than they lose.
The full-back notched a fine winner as Villa triumphed over Man City for the third consecutive season at home.
"It was great and I was just hoping that they didn’t score at the end because I wanted to take the headlines," he says with a laugh.
"It’s always great to score in games, but to score a decent goal against City which turned out to be the winner was a great feeling.
"It was then topped with that feeling of signing the new contract the next day, so it was great."
Cash already has two goals to his name this season and only needs three more to match his best tally with Villa of five during the 2023/24 campaign.
Is he doing something different compared to previous seasons?
"I don’t really set too many targets for myself because I don’t want to overthink too much when I’m playing," he explained.
"Before, I might have set myself a few targets but now, I don’t try and think that I have to hit 10 goals or 10 assists this season, so I just play my game and enjoy it the best I possibly can. In terms of numbers, I try to take the pressure off myself."
However, there is one thing that Cash has set his sights on this season.
"The big target for me this year is to help Poland reach the World Cup," he says. "I played in the last World Cup, which was an amazing experience and I loved it. To go away and play the last-16 tie against France was unbelievable.
"We want to do the best we can to qualify and we’re in a good position and the main thing is to get to the tournament, whether it’s through the play-offs or topping the group, which will be tough because Holland are playing well. But I just want to be there and it’ll be fantastic for all of us."
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Matty Cash competing with Kylian Mbappe at the 2022 World Cup.
Image credit: Getty Images
'His life is football'
Speaking to Cash, his respect for Villa boss Unai Emery and his coaching staff shines through, and you can understand the reasons behind this.
The Spaniard arrived from Villarreal to take charge at Villa Park in October 2022 with the club just one spot above the relegation zone at the time.
Emery has inspired a remarkable upturn in the club's fortunes after guiding them back into European football while enjoying impressive wins over every club from the league's 'Big Six' over the last three years.
Cash mentioned earlier how Emery played a role in extending his stay at the club and detailed why the manager should be considered one of the best in the world.
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Emery 'so proud' of Villa after 'fantastic win' at Feyenoord
Video credit: TNT Sports
"I’ve got a really good relationship with him," he explained. "I do a lot of work with him and the coaches to improve my game and to become better as a player.
"Over the last three seasons, I’ve definitely improved in all aspects defensively and going forward as well. I love working under him and the manager has been a massive part of the club’s success.
"He’s not only just improved me as a player and a person, but in terms of the whole club, he helped us qualify for Europe from the Conference League to Champions League, and now we’re competing in the Europa League.
"The demand that he brings is fantastic and I think every player has improved and gone up another level since he joined the club."
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During Villa's winless start to the campaign, Emery was not afraid to challenge his squad publicly and labelled their performance as "lazy" following the draw against 10-man Sunderland.
The criticism appeared to work as Villa have turned their season around and Cash explained that Emery's mentality and dedication to his craft is what brings the best out of the group.
"He doesn’t necessarily put pressure on us, but he expects a lot," he said. "You have to be on it and tuned in every day in training, and it’s not just him; it’s his coaching staff as well, because he’s demanding with them.
"I think that’s the only way you can become successful at a football club. We have a manager who is so detailed with winning and getting better and the key to success is to work hard. There’s a difference between working and properly working and being detailed with your work.
"A lot of people will say that they work hard but, in truth, they actually don’t work that hard. The manager is a fine example of someone who shows dedication to everything.
"His life is football, and he does everything to win by setting out game-plans and giving us different ideas and scenarios to win games. That is why we have done so well in recent years."
'One of the greatest results in the Premier League'
Although Emery has turned the club into serious contenders for European spots, he has so far failed to turn the form guide upside down when it comes to Villa's results against Liverpool.
The Villans have not tasted victory at Anfield in the Premier League since 2014 and their last win over The Reds in the competition came in October 2020 - and it was a memorable encounter.
Cash played 80 minutes on that famous day at Villa Park where everything came together for the team as they claimed a stunning 7-2 victory over Jurgen Klopp's reigning league champions.
"That feels like a long time now. From what I remember, it was great," Cash recalls with a smile.
"Unfortunately, it was during lockdown, so it would’ve been much better if there were fans inside the stadium, but to beat Liverpool 7-2 at home was probably one of the greatest results in the Premier League.
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Ollie Watkins celebrates hat-trick in memorable win over Liverpool
Image credit: Getty Images
"To be part of that result was great and there were some good performances during the game with Ollie [Watkins] getting a hat-trick, so I was happy for him and it was great for everyone."
Although many will not be predicting the same scoreline, Villa supporters heading to Anfield will be confident of getting a result as Arne Slot's team have suffered four consecutive league defeats.
The Reds were also dumped out of the Carabao Cup in emphatic fashion against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, which has ramped up the pressure ahead of Villa's trip to Anfield.
Cash highlighted that Liverpool are missing the influence of fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold following his move to Real Madrid in the summer, but he is not expecting an easy game on Saturday evening.
"They’re obviously not playing too well at the minute but that can change given the quality they have in that team.
"As a footballer, I know how quickly things can change. They’re a fantastic club and they’ve got such a good team and they can hurt anyone at any time, so we’ll be ready for that."
But will Liverpool be ready for Cash?
The Villa man will be bouncing into the match following his great week and those present on Merseyside could witness Cash pulling out his new golf swing celebration if he manages to get on the scoresheet.
Is there anything behind his new celebration?
"I play and I’m actually decent at golf and I thought I’d try something different," he laughs.
Does he have anything special prepared if he scores at Anfield?
"I’ve said to myself that I’ll try and do something new the next time I score a goal, but I’m not going to think about it," he says. "Because if I think about it too much, I just won’t score."
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