Dean Smith: Forget Premier League table for now
Dean Smith wants Villa to put the Premier League table out of their thoughts as they look to rediscover their fluency.
Villa are firmly in the race for a top-six finish after a season which has exceeded expectations to this point.
But Smith insists his focus is purely on Sunday’s visit of Leicester as his team look to rebound from a sluggish showing in last weekend’s 0-0 draw at Brighton.
Asked about Villa’s European ambitions the boss replied: “We are not even thinking about that (Europe). There is a big improvement we have to make on Saturday’s performance.
“We had a week’s training last week instead of playing a midweek game. I thought we would come out of the traps firing and we didn’t. We are not even thinking about the league table, just concentrating on what we have to do to improve our next performance.”
Smith, meanwhile, remains confident Ross Barkley will rediscover his best form sooner rather than later. He continued: “It’s been tough for Ross because he got injured and missed eight weeks. When he was due to come back we had the Covid outbreak at the training ground and he was the only fit person available to train.”
