Local pride matters to Smith, who jokes about not being able to find any privacy in the pubs around Birmingham these days. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. His progress as a coach was rapid, passing his pro-license in 2008 with class-mates which included Brendan Rodgers and Roy Keane.

Sam Vokes sent the Potters through to the quarter-finals as Villa… “Our sporting director at the moment has got his finger on the pulse, hopefully we might get one more in and maybe a couple more out.”. The meeting at the Hyatt, shortly before midnight, was effectively a job interview for the vacant managerial post at Aston Villa. Smith was a popular appointment in October last year, at a time when the mood around Villa Park was fractious after the final months of Steve Bruce’s tenure. “We’ll see if there’s one who can fit both for us.”. The coronavirus shutdown meant the fixture did not take place until June 21 and although Villa lost 2-1, they had become a leaner, meaner team and avoided the drop by a single point. “I don’t see Dean as this big Premier League manager, he will never change and that’s one of his strengths.”. Here, Sportsmail looks at how Villa have turned things round. "The criteria is clear and obvious and that wasn't and the goal should of stood. Smith on recruitment: “We are always looking; we are probably one short in the squad at the moment.

Chief sports writer for the Express & Star. It was an hour before kick-off between Leicester and Aston Villa and a time when managers would usually be feeling tense before their pre-game interview, but Smith looked as though he had just sunk a long birdie putt on the 18th in his regular Sunday morning medal at Great Barr golf club.

I looked at Jon Whitney and said: ‘I can see why we’re bottom of the league.’, “We scored two goals in the last five minutes to draw the game and eventually stayed up on the last day of the season and I had injected the drug that day of becoming a manager. One of nine British managers in the Premier League, Smith is also highly regarded by his peers and emerging as an inspiration for young coaches. When they were unable to train, he split the squad into small groups and asked them to analyse Villa’s defending in certain matches over Zoom, requesting feedback on what could be improved. But the same cannot be said for his family, with Smith revealing wife Nicola is currently too nervous to even watch. I think we all do things for our family, don’t we?”. Your phone number won't be shared with any other members of the group. “I think everyone who was at Stoke and was on the pitch in the first half will say we were not good enough. https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/.../aston-villa-grealish-dean-smith-17131144 “If you want to have a career managing you’ve got to work your way up,” he said. "My opinion on VAR it's being used to negate things. There’s no magic wand. He wants to come here and really achieve something.

It was an hour before kick-off between Leicester and Aston Villa and a …

Dean Smith admits it’s his wife who has suffered the most stress during Villa’s nail-biting battle for Premier League survival.


It was Smith’s time at Walsall where his reputation really started to soar as a No 1. My daughter has to tell her what’s going on with an alert on the phone! Liverpool vs Sheffield United, Premier League: what time is kick-off , what TV channel is it on and what is our prediction? “There is always a time and a place for keeping cool and there is also a time and a place for letting people know they are not meeting their expectations of what the manager has sent you out on the pitch to do. One of the recurring themes about Smith is his ability to deal with the highs and lows, the capricious fortunes of a football manager.

Published: 23:40, 19 October 2020 | Updated: 00:30, 20 October 2020. ‘I could speak to him about anything, on or off the field,’ said Grealish during lockdown. Admittedly, Terry’s celebrity can grab the attention. Beaten 4-0 at the King Power Stadium on March 9, Smith looked broken, muttering angrily about a VAR call as his team seemed destined for relegation. Dean Smith (second right) was a happy man as Aston Villa beat Leicester City 1-0 on Sunday, Ross Barkley (left)'s injury-time winner made it four wins from four at the start of this season.

Aston Villa latest | the captain spoke to Smith's wife in the players' lounge after the Brighton victory and told the boss to calm down after what was job done against the Seagulls, Sign up NOW for our daily Villa newsletter direct to your inbox. The arrival of sporting director Johan Lange (above) has been a revelation for Aston Villa, Villa now new faces Barkley (left), Matty Cash (third right) and Ollie Watkins (second right). He even tells a story about inviting Lampard to give a motivational speech to his squad at Brentford. As a lifelong Villa fan, Smith does not need to be told how much it would mean to lead this storied club back into the Premier League. Villa, though, got over the line thanks to Matt Targett's 94th-minute winner with just 10 seconds left on the clock. “If I was ever coaching a team and didn’t enjoy watching them play, I’d leave the job,” says O’Kelly, who shares coaching duties at Villa with Smith and John Terry.
His voice wobbled and he paused again to clear his throat. Davis missed the 1-0 win at Leicester at the weekend with a knock, having been in the squad for Villa’s opening three wins of the season. Smith’s background is more modest. Football supporters face £300 fines and six penalty points for putting club stickers on cars, Former Aston Villa star gives update on Liverpool future amid shock Leeds United transfer talk, Said Benrahma makes 'hard' transfer admission after Aston Villa rumours, Aston Villa were linked with a move for Said Benrahma throughout the summer transfer window before the winger joined West Ham United on season-long loan from Brentford, 'Like Haaland' - Dean Smith sent exciting Aston Villa message, Wesley Moraes' former teammate makes exciting prediction about Brazilian striker who hasn't played for Aston Villa since suffering a serious knee injury at Burnley in January, 'Lampard won't last' - Chelsea sent transfer message over future of Aston Villa star, Aston Villa transfer discussion continues over Ross Barkley as fans start to wonder whether Dean Smith's side might be able to land the playmaker on a permanent deal, 'Why all this panic?'

The kid from Great Barr is living a claret and blue dream. Before the start of the season, Grealish signed a new five-year deal, taking his wages well above £100,000 a week. Despite Traore’s immediate influence, Smith is keen to strengthen in the final third while a further option in midfield would not go amiss.