Dean Smith spoke to members of the media at his pre-match press conference on Friday morning.
The Aston Villa head coach was questioned on a number of subjects as the build-up to Sunday's Premier League game against West Ham United continues.
Here's what he had to say...
On team news...
“Emi Martinez will be back training with us today. He’s had some personal issues that he had to fly back home for, but he’s back today so I have no worries about his availability.
“Other than that, Morgan Sanson and Jaden Philogene-Bidace are both off ill and Trezeguet is still coming back from injury.”
On Leon Bailey, he added: “We’re having to manage him carefully. He came here with no pre-season and an injury from playing international football.
“He got injured in the Everton game and we had to wrap him up in cotton wool, so to speak. He got a good 45 minutes against Arsenal and he needed that.
“He was blowing, but he’s had a good week’s training. We’ll assess tomorrow whether he’s ready to start or not.”
On Villa’s recent form…
“Three games ago we were coming off the back of winning at Old Trafford for the first time in 12 years. We’ve had two tight matches against Tottenham and Wolves and we probably threw the Wolves game away in the last ten minutes.
“We had a really poor first half against Arsenal. We changed in at half-time and certainly got better. For me, a pivotal point was the penalty and it shouldn’t have been referred to VAR because it wasn’t clear and obvious.
“Out of the last three games, we’ve had two narrow defeats and one where we didn’t turn up in the first half. We got a response in the second half and we need a response now against West Ham.”
On Jacob Ramsey…
“It was a great finish [against Arsenal] and something we’ve come to see day-in-day-out on the training ground. He’s a very good finisher.
“He was getting frustrated with himself that he hadn’t scored or created anything. He’s getting better as a player.
“We have to remember that he’s still young, but he’s had a lot of minutes in the Premier League now. His experiences, knowledge and decision making is getting better and we’ll continue to strive for improvement as we work with him.”
On West Ham United…
“They’re in a really good moment. They’re on the back of two Premier League victories against Everton and Tottenham and a cup win against Manchester City.
“They’re a very good team with a very good coach. I’m full of respect for David Moyes and how well he’s done at West Ham. He’s got them playing in Europe this season and they’re playing very well.
“I expect a tough game, but it’s one we’re looking forward too. They’ve got a very good squad and a way of playing that suits their players.
“They have a good understanding, a good organisation and good players. When you’ve got those ingredients for a good team, I expected them to be pushing again this season.”
