Dean Smith spoke to the media via a virtual press conference on Friday morning to preview Aston Villa’s game against Manchester United.
The club’s head coach had a number of topics to discuss as he prepares to take on the Red Devils at Villa Park.
Here’s what he had to say…
On team news…
Asked about Jack Grealish, Smith said: “He’s out on the grass loading the injury, so he’s on his way back.
“This game is too soon for him. He starts training with the group tomorrow, so it’s too soon to put him in against Manchester United.
“As I’ve said many times, we want him back as soon as possible, but we’ve got to do it right.”
He added: “Morgan Sanson is still not available, he’ll be training with us next week.”
On Manchester United…
“They’ve got a lot of games to play, they’ve got a cup final to look forward to and they’ll be looking to cement their second place spot. They’ve done very well this season and we know we’re coming up against a very good team.
“They were the ones who were pushing Manchester City until about eight to ten games ago when Manchester City started pulling away.
“They’ve had a very good season and it’s something that’s been building. They lost away from home last night, so hopefully they can lose that first away game in the Premier League on Sunday.”
On the team’s final five games…
“They’ve [his team] got a target. We’ve got some really good games coming up – Manchester United, then we’ve got the return against Everton, Chelsea last game, Tottenham and Crystal Palace.
“The lads know where they want to finish and how well they want to do it. Our last two performances have been really good, and we want to finish the way we started the season.
“We know going into these games that it’s going to be tough, but we usually finish the season well and our performances are going in the right direction.”
On Anwar El Ghazi…
“He’s gone on goalscoring streaks this season rather than last season. He’ll be the first to admit that his performances have been a little bit inconsistent and we’re trying to find that consistency with him.
“December, he scored five goals and had a great period in that time. He then became a bit more inconsistent and he’s come back again now just when we need him.
“Really pleased for him and it will do his confidence the world of good.”
