After an eventful few days in domestic and European football, Dean Smith spoke to the media via a virtual press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
The club’s head coach discussed a number of subjects, including the European Super League, as he prepares his team to take on Manchester City at Villa Park on Wednesday night.
Here’s what he had to say…
On the European Super League…
“Everybody knows that we’re only custodians. I’m a custodian as the manager of the football club, our owners are custodians of Aston Villa Football Club, as are everybody else.
“The club will be here long after I’m gone. As custodians, we’re here for the supporters. Football is nothing without supporters. Supporters are why we have football clubs.
“Everyone who’s involved in football – Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp – they will have been football fans before they became players, managers, chief executives, owners.
“The idea that we can stop competition is ridiculous. The whole of football needs to stand up to it. Players and managers have not been involved in any discussions, it’s been at an executive level. That’s why I believe it’s not for the good of football, it’s a commercial venture.”
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On team news…
When asked if Jack Grealish is fit to play, he said: “No, he’s not. I did say it’d be a few weeks before we got him back out again and we’re still waiting for him to get back out onto the grass.
“He’s itching to get in and we want him back. We’ve also got Trezeguet who had a nasty knee injury last week and he’s going to be out for a significant time now. He’s had an operation that was successful.
“Morgan Sanson’s got a knee injury as well, so we’re not too sure how long he’ll be out.”
On Ollie Watkins…
“He’s been excellent, and I’m really pleased for him. He’s just got the news that he’s going to be a dad, which is really pleasing from him and his partner.
“He’s such a selfless person. His work-rate on and off the ball, his attitude every day when he comes into training – he deserves all the success he gets.
“Hopefully there’s a lot more to come at this football club.”
On playing Manchester City…
“We have to work extremely hard to match them. They’re very good with and without the football.
“If you play in front of them, they’ll press you like many of the top teams do now. They’ve got players who are more than capable on the ball.
“I went to the FA Cup semi-final and I thought Chelsea were excellent against them, restricted them to a few chances and we have to do that as well.
“If you can do that, then with the ball you can create chances against them. It’s hard to do that but you can.”
