Mick McCarthy has hailed Dean Smith as a top-quality appointment by Aston Villa – and insisted the new manager is good enough for the Premier League.
Smith took over at the Midlands giants last month after being prised from Brentford, who he had transformed into a top-10 Championship club on a shoestring budget.
Former Wolves, Sunderland and Ipswich Town boss McCarthy had been mentioned as a candidate for the Villa post but he thinks Smith is an outstanding choice.
“I didn’t think there was ever any chance of me getting the Aston Villa job,” McCarthy told beIN Sports. “I’d been banging the drum for Dean Smith anyway…I thought, for a Premier League job because he had been excellent at Brentford, and I’m delighted he got the Villa job but sad for Steve [Bruce].”
Mick McCarthy admits he had no chance of getting the Aston Villa job but has given his backing to Dean Smith. #AVFC pic.twitter.com/nLHHEQwzxB
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OPINION
As someone who has won two Championship titles and managed with great success in England’s top two divisions, McCarthy’s opinions on the best managers around are worth listening to. It is instructive that the experienced manager, who quit at Ipswich last season, has been “banging the drum” for Smith to land a Premier League job, never mind one in the Championship. Certainly, Villa regard themselves as a Premier League-calibre club in the wrong division, and their history and fan base certainly backs that up. Many questioned the appointment of Smith, who landed the job after Thierry Henry opted to head to Monaco instead. That increasingly looks like a bullet dodged for the Midlands giants. The new man has had a mixed start at Villa Park, winning consecutive home games but struggling in the two on the road. That’s only to be expected, but Smith should do very well at the club, if McCarthy’s opinion of him is spot on.