It’s a good squad that’s probably been underperforming and our job is to get performances.” It should give them confidence to go on now. The win against Brentford was a big thing for the players. Yes, it hasn’t been the greatest of starts, hence why I’m sat here, but if you look at the teams who we had to play early on, it was tough. "The fact is we’re only 11 games in and have 27 games left. “My job is to keep us in the league this season and I firmly believe that’s what we can do. “If I thought was a risk wouldn’t have taken it,” Smith said. There was not a note of panic over the prospects for a Norwich side six points from safety. The big smile was probably deliberate, to get everyone relaxed, the same for a gag about what he’s like at home when he is out of work: “I’ve got a little bit of OCD in me so I’m in the fridge making sure the ham is not out of date.” Chuck in the ferry ride and it’s quite the whirlwind.Īs Smith spoke about his time at Aston Villa, his processes in moving on and his ambitions at his new club, it was clear he was not about to get emotional. "JT was finding out little tricks of the trade, the experiences I have had to get the best out of people.In the space of nine days Smith had been sacked by the club he has supported all his life, whom he had just given the best years in their recent history, only to then become the man chosen by the league’s bottom team as someone who “shares our values” and can not only keep them in the division but help them kick on.
I’m a big boy, I’ve been in professional football since I was 16 years old so I’ve seen an awful lot of things. “I’m happy to take the criticism for them. “I’ve been in this situation (before) and we stayed up in our first season in the Premier League. I get the physical output data, I see the mental side of the players. “I’m fortunate that I can take things with a lot more context than other people because I see what happens on the training ground every day. We’ve made some small mistakes in games that have cost us, we were missing five players for the West Ham game. “We are in a high-performing elite sport and within those games there have been marginal moments which transpired. There is a collective responsibility and the players have been working hard. “We are not far from turning it around and we are in a determined mood, that’s for sure. There has been a reaction from all the players because they are disappointed with the results. “There is no panic, we’re in control and determined to put things right. My wife is still talking to me so, if that answers your question, then yeah, I feel fine. “If you’re asking me if I sleep well, yes, I sleep well. “I think the perception from outside of the football club is always different,” said Smith. Smith is enduring his worst run as Villa boss for 20 months – which includes, arguably, the worst 45 minutes of his tenure in the defeat at Arsenal a fortnight ago.ĭean Smith’s woes reflect the increasing transience of the managerĭespite the 4-1 home loss to West Ham last weekend, Smith felt he got a response from his players following that dire first-half display at the Emirates Stadium and the 50-year-old was in bullish mood ahead of the trip to St Mary’s. Reports emerged this week that the club could be considering former Shakhtar Donetsk and Roma boss Paulo Fonseca to replace Smith should Villa suffer a fifth straight Premier League defeat against Southampton on Friday night. Aston Villa manager Dean Smith insists he is not feeling the pressure amid speculation about his job – insisting there is “no panic”.