Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been hailed for the changes he has made behind the scenes at Villa Park amid their impressive turnaround in the Premier League.

How good have Villa become under Emery?

The win on the weekend at Villa Park saw Emery's men climb to just six points off the Champions League places with only seven games remaining in their season.

However, the win alone was equally impressive as the dismantled one of the Premier League's most in-form teams from this season.

Eddie Howe's Magpies have been mightily impressive this season as they look to disrupt the 'big six' and earn themselves a spot inside the top four.

And the Toon went into the game with the record of the league's best defence, yet Villa ran riot against the Tynesiders as they put three past Nick Pope.

With the Premier League campaign coming to an end over the coming weeks, Villa find themselves in a rich vein of form which has been noted as a result of the influence of their Spanish manager.

Speaking to NBC Sports, journalist David Ornstein has revealed some of the changes off the field the 51-year-old has implemented since his arrival:

(3:35) "Now this owes everything to the amazing impact that Unai Emery has made on and off the pitch. And when you speak to people around the club like I do, they point immediately to his experience."

"They talk about his quality, they talk about his work ethic, he does not stop night and day. He is an absolute Trojan when it comes to that, his diligence, his attention to detail.

"And you hear stories of how Villa now hold more meetings than ever before because Emery really wants to drill home the style of play, the manner in which he wants his teams to operate to get to know his players better to develop them, they're spending more time in hotels in order for him to conduct those meetings."

How far can Emery take Villa?

The upcoming games for Villa will provide them with a real test with a spot in Europe potentially on the cards with just seven games remaining.

A lot of their remaining games will come against sides in and around them in the Premier League table so maintaining this sterling form would be mightily impressive.

However, there is no reason why Emery cannot guide them to a strong finish.

The game against Newcastle on the weekend could have easily seen Villa brushed to one side with Newcastle going into the game in such impressive form as they battle for Champions League football.

But Villa absolutely dominated the game. Emery's side ended the game having registered double the shots on target of the visitors and three times as many shots on target.

Alongside having a difficult run in, Villa will also have to contend with a build-up of games with three games in the space of eight days coming up.

Although this may be something Villa may not be used to, the experience of Emery – as Ornstein mentioned – will surely have this side in the best possible place both physically and mentally to go into the run of games.

Ornstein commented on the way Emery has changed the way the club approach match days and this could play a big part if Villa are to succeed in the remaining games of the season.