Dean Smith believes that he could have taken Aston Villa to the top 10 of the Premier League table if the club had not sacked him.
He argued that Aston Villa struggled in his last couple of games in charge of the club because of the number of players that were battling different degrees of injury.
The 50-year-old coach stressed that he was projecting that when his injured players are fit, the team would start recording good results again.
Recall that Aston Villa sacked Dean Smith on Sunday, November 7, hours after he led the club to record 1-0 away defeat at the hands of Southampton.
The defeat made it the 5th consecutive time that Dean Smith and his team lost a Premier League game this season. Smith who has been the manager of the club since 2018 managed to help Aston Villa to record just three wins and a draw in 11 Premier League games.
These poor stats forced Aston Villa to sink to the 16th spot with 10 points, just two points away from the relegation zone.
Hence, Aston Villa that Dean Smith helped to gain promotion to the Premier League two years ago had to let him go with no replacement plan yet.
In his reaction hours after he was sacked, Dean Smith said in a statement that he believes that Aston Villa would have still moved up the Premier League table under his reign.
“To be appointed the head coach of Aston Villa, the club I supported throughout my childhood, was and remains something I am extremely proud of,” Smith said.
“I understand the football industry and of course, I respect the owners’ decision, but I felt that with important players soon returning to full fitness, we would achieve a top-half finish…
“One of my roles as head coach at Aston Villa was to improve individual players to enhance on-field performance for the team,” Smith added.
“Playing a part in developing a player who would be transferred for a British record transfer fee, along with creating a pathway for a thriving academy, are all areas in which I feel I’ve more than contributed.”
Steven Gerrard could replace Dean Smith at Aston Villa
The head coach of Rangers, Steven Gerrard, is reportedly top on the wishlist of Aston Villa’s board. The former England international who has been having a successful career at Rangers since last season is seen as the coach that can keep Aston Villa in the Premier League this season.
Though Steven Gerrard has never managed a Premier League club before now, Villa’s board believes Liverpool’s football legend could do what coach Dean Smith failed to do at Villa.
The 41-year-old English tactician is seen as the future coach of Liverpool. Recall that when Jurgen Klopp was struggling with Liverpool last season, it was rumored that Liverpool’s board was planning to replace the German coach with Gerrard. At the end of the day, Gerrard remained at Rangers while Klopp continued with his work at Anfield.
At the time of publishing this report, Gerrard has not confirmed or debunked any link between him and Aston Villa. However, Villa are said to have a couple of options in case Gerrard decides not to join Villa this season.
🇳🇱 “We should be looking at Ten Hag.”
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) November 9, 2021
🙏 “We have owners now who want to spend money & the squad isn’t bad.”
🔥 “We have good young players, Ajax have the best academy in the world!”
This #AVFC fan explains why wants Erik ten Hag rather than Steven Gerrard. pic.twitter.com/MirVLnAWd4
