Dean Smith spoke to the media via video call on Tuesday morning.
Aston Villa’s head coach had plenty to talk about ahead of Wednesday night’s Premier League game against Manchester City at the Etihad.
Here’s what he had to say…
On pre-match preparations...
“We’ll have had a three day build-up for the Manchester City game. The first day was almost like the kids’ first day back in the playground and they were full of energy and enthusiasm.
“It was good to see them back on the grass again. They looked really bright, so I’m hopeful for a bright return.
“I’m not going to make any excuses for the issues. My players are ready to play against Manchester City.”
On Manchester City…
“We’ll go to the game and play as we have been playing. We’re looking forward to it. They’re a very good team – we know that, and they’re playing at the top of their game at the moment.
“I believe that we’re a different proposition to what we were last season and it’s down to ourselves to go and prove that.
“We’ve had a small build-up to this game because of the Coronavirus outbreak at the football club, but it’s a chance to go and test ourselves again.
“Our last game was against Manchester United, who are top of the table, and we certainly felt we’d done enough not to lose that game.”
On team news…
“Obviously I’ve got some players who’ve contracted Coronavirus and I’ve got to check whether they’re fully fit or not.
“I don’t think we’ll be hamstrung by it at all. We’ll have a few players who’ve been affected by it, but we’ve also got a lot of players who’ve had a so-called winter break."
On upcoming schedule…
“The players that I’ve got here have got that hunger and desire to play football games.
“I’m sure the majority of them would admit that six games in 18 days is better than 12 days on the training ground.
“We’ll be looking forward to all the games, that’s for sure.”
