Danny Murphy has slammed new Aston Villa boss Dean Smith after he aimed a sly dig at predecessor Steve Bruce for his training methods.
Smith spoke to Talksport before his opening game at the helm – a 1-0 win over Swansea – and claimed that the players had been working at a tempo which they hadn’t for a while in training.
Murphy took that comment as a dig at former boss Bruce and took exception to it, slamming Smith for his decision to call his predecessor’s training methods into question.
Speaking on Talksport [Monday 22 October, 12:07], Murphy said: “I don’t like what he said regarding they’ve been asked to work at an intensity that they haven’t been asked to recently, that’s having a little dig at the old manager.
“I don’t like to hear that from any manager that comes in. You know you get this thing – he’s talking maybe about fitness, application there – keep it to yourself, do you know what I mean?”
OPINION
You can see where Murphy is coming from here, but it is clear that Smith did not really mean his words as a dig at Bruce. Different managers have different ways of working, and the fact is that some push their players harder in training than others. Smith’s attacking style demands high levels of fitness, and that means his training sessions will inevitably be tougher than those which Bruce conducted. Smith will have a huge amount of respect for Bruce and what he has achieved in football and at Aston Villa, and it is doubtful that he would have been looking to openly criticise his predecessor. All in all it has been an impressive start for Smith at Villa Park, with their 1-0 win over Swansea at the weekend providing the perfect platform for him to push on at his new club. A Tuesday night clash against Norwich awaits, and that will be another tough test for Villa as they look to climb the table.