Aston Villa journalist Mat Kendrick has been sharing his thoughts on Dean Smith and his future as manager of the club.
This comes after Kendrick recently made an appearance on the latest episode of the Birmingham Mail’s Claret & Blue Podcast that mainly focused on the Villa boss.
During the episode, Kendrick had this to say on Smith.
He said: “Let’s hope they do finish 14th or 15th and next season it’s another two or three places.
“I don’t want people to grow impatient with him, that includes me and us and the press and the fans.
“I’m not saying that you indulge him. If there’s no signs of progress, if Villa stand still or go backwards, then his ‘one of us’ status shouldn’t make him immune from being under the same scrutiny as everybody else.”
Smith took over at Villa back in October 2018 with John Terry as his assistant coach after Villa’s previous manager Steve Bruce was sacked earlier in the month (per BBC Sport).
In November 2019, the club announced that Smith had signed a new deal that would see him remain as Villa’s manager until 2023.
Overall, Smith has taken charge of 90 matches as Villa boss, winning 39, drawing 19 and losing 32 of them, resulting in a points-per-game average of 1.51.
Villa’s latest Premier League match saw them demolish Premier League champions Liverpool 7-2 at Villa Park with Smith calling his side’s performance “outstanding” (per BBC Sport).
Is Dean Smith the right man to take Villa forward?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
From what Kendrick had to say in the podcast, it’s clear that he likes Smith but in our view, he is right when he says that Villa should take action if there ever comes a point where they don’t feel like Smith is the right man to take the club forward.
Hopefully, that won’t happen for a while though and Smith can continue in his role at the Birmingham club.