[ad_1]
Dean Smith has challenged his Aston Villa stars to invite their fans to a ‘special’ 2021 after a wonderful finale to 2020.
Villa looked doomed at one stage last season before struggling from the brink of relegation to survive the final day at West Ham.
Owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens funded another wave of summer spending over the summer and Villa hasn’t looked back.
Eight victories in his first 14 Premier League games have left Villa, fifth-ranked, threatening to come as a big surprise. It has also led its followers, who have passed through the mill in recent years, to dream of better days to come and a possible return to Europe.
Video not available
Always a professional, Smith is not getting carried away by what promises to be Villa’s toughest task of the season: a New Years trip to Manchester United.
“We hope it’s special, but only time will tell,” Smith said. “We have to maintain our performance levels all the time in training camp and make sure we are professional enough to recover and be more vigilant against this pandemic and COVID because they are the only ways you can keep your team together in this moment.
“The fact that I have players who want to improve and continue to develop. We also act as trainers and when you have those ingredients it becomes a good recipe. “
Smith has assembled a team blessed not only with individual talent, but also with the team spirit and camaraderie that was shown in Villa’s draw at Stamford Bridge last time out.
He achieved this by carefully selecting new signings to ensure that the harmony that has been built at Bodymoor Heath is not interrupted.
“I said that when I first arrived it takes a while to develop a culture,” he explained. “That is the most important thing to me in any workplace. If you have a good culture, you have the opportunity to do things.
“We feel with the people we already had in the club and what we have added are good characters and good people who can improve the culture.”
[ad_2]
