Express & Star chief sports writer Matt Maher reflects on Villa’s defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Unai Emery might well believe rebuild to be a beautiful word but there is currently little pretty about the one he is attempting at Villa.

An afternoon the manager hoped would deliver confirmation his team is headed in the right direction, instead only demonstrated just how much further they have to go.

A third defeat in four Premier League matches, courtesy of Igor Jesus’ late goal which earned Nottingham Forest a first win at Villa Park since 1994, felt a step back after the advances of the previous week’s draw at Hull and Champions League victory at Club Brugge.

Even Emery seemed bemused by a ragged second half performance in which Villa did at least score their first league goal of the campaign, courtesy of Alysson’s 74th minute header.

The Brazilian’s first goal since joining in January cancelled out Liam Delap’s opener for the visitors and appeared to offer Villa a platform from which to push on for victory.

Yet the moment which ultimately defined the match came with around 10 minutes remaining. Ian Maatsen was scythed down by Forest midfielder James McAtee, sustaining what Villa fear may be a serious ankle injury.

With Emery having already used all five substitutions, it meant the home side had to play the rest of the match with only 10 men and the visitors took full advantage, Jesus steering home after Zion Suzuki had already saved from Daniel Munoz and Xaver Schlager.

Emery later complained McAtee’s challenge had been worthy of more than the yellow card he received from referee Andrew Madley and may have had a point. It certainly felt unfair for Forest to effectively profit from foul play.

But then the Villa boss had also taken a gamble by making all his changes so early and while his side could be considered unfortunate to have lost Pau Torres to a hamstring injury, the same could not be said for Nicolas Jackson’s half-time withdrawal.

Emery’s admission he had taken the Senegal international off due to fear he might otherwise be dismissed was in many respects the most concerning and eye-opening moment of the afternoon.

Jackson’s disciplinary issues have long been known and became something of a running joke at Chelsea, where observers would ponder whether he would finish a season with more goals than cards.

His first half booking on Saturday came from an off the ball shove on defender Ousmane Diomande and Emery later claimed referee Madley had warned Villa’s staff the striker needed to calm down, or risk a second yellow.

The fact Emery could not trust the player to keep his cool cannot be considered particularly encouraging for the culture the Villa boss declared central to the club’s success, in those same programme notes in which he also expressed his love for a rebuild.

A strong mentality has been the foundation of the past four years under the Spaniard. Ezri Konsa’s red card on the opening day of last season was the only one Villa received in the whole of the Premier League campaign.

This term they have already seen Joao Gomes sit out three matches for a debut sending-off, while the need to remove Jackson from Saturday’s fray was also damaging.

Not only did it mean they had maxed out on substitutions by the time Maatsen was injured, it also robbed them of a focal point up front with Jackson’s replacement, Tammy Abraham, currently playing at a level some way short of what is required.

Emery had also used his programme notes to praise those players who had remained on the books following the summer upheaval.

On Saturday evening he might have been in the mood to take back those words. Right now, a few too many of the old guard are failing to deliver when the manager needs them most.

Boubacar Kamara, for one, has endured few rougher periods in a Villa shirt than at the start of the second half, when he was first guilty of losing the ball in the build-up to Delap’s opener and for a time after struggled to complete a pass to a team-mate.

Kamara’s inconsistent form can at least be put down to the fact he has only recently returned from a serious knee injury.

The same cannot be said for Emi Buendia, who for the second weekend running failed to make much impact on a match in which Villa really needed him to grasp the nettle.

Forest registered 22 attempts on goal to Villa’s seven. Much as McAtee’s tackle might have rankled, it was hard not to see the visitors as deserved winners. Emery is now winless in eight meetings with Forest boss Oliver Glasner.

Other than Alysson’s goal the biggest cheer of the afternoon came when Ibrahim Mbaye and Johan Manzambi came on to make their debuts.

With them, Villa at least offered more threat and Emery will now surely press the accelerator on a revamp which has so far been slow going.

In many respects, he has no choice. The injury to Maatsen will offer Matteo Ruggeri a chance, while the absence of Torres opens the door to Taylor Harwood-Bellis. Gomes, you suspect, will come back into the side for next weekend’s trip to Tottenham.

Villa’s stumbling start to the season has so far been met with an air of calm, with supporters mindful of just how quickly things turned around from a similarly tough position 12 months ago.

But this is now a different team, with much to prove. The clash with a Spurs side who have also struggled in the opening weeks feels pretty big.