Aston Villa's European Cup winner Nigel Spink has hailed manager Unai Emery after the club reached the Europa Conference League semifinals.

Villa defeated Lille in a penalty shootout last night.

Spink told BBC Sport: "What's been so impressive is that he's got an authority about him, and he's done it quietly. Villa have snuck up on the blind side a little bit and surprised people with how they've progressed.

"He's just doing a quiet job and he's a very good manager, which is a concern as well because if they don't consistently get into the Champions League, one of the bigger boys from Europe might try to poach him.

"That's why they need Champions League football again. With that standard of football, you keep your best players like [Emiliano] Martinez and attract Champions League level footballers to the club."

On keeper Emi Martinez, Spink also said: "He's unbelievable, his antics. He's just like Bruce Grobbelaar, he is that kind of character.

"You take away all those antics and he is a fantastic goalkeeper, arguably the world's number one at the moment. But he's got that added extrovert character that comes out in these situations.

"I always used to think the goalkeeper had the edge because there was no pressure on a goalkeeper. You should score from 12 yards. But he makes it that much more difficult for ta penalty taker with his antics."