Aston Villa fans were excited by the prospect of a more stylish brand of football under new manager Dean Smith.
Former Brentford boss Smith was appointed as Steve Bruce’s successor at Aston Villa last week and knows he must push for promotion back to the Premier League.
Smith will be assisted by John Terry and Richard O’Kelly at Villa, who followed the new manager from Brentford.
On the whole Aston Villa fans were delighted with the appointment given Smith is a lifelong Villain.
But they are also excited by the prospect of Smith bringing the swashbuckling style his Brentford side exhibited during his tenure as the Bees pushed for an unlikely promotion to the big time.
Villa fans may need to temper their expectations, though, if new comments from Brentford co-sporting director Rasmus Ankersen are anything to go by.
When announcing the appointment of Smith’s old assistant Thomas Frank as the new Bees boss, Ankerson suggested his new head coach was the brains behind Brentford’s much-admired style.
“Thomas knows the club’s strategy inside out and he is both respected and supported by players and staff at the training ground,” Ankersen said, as reported by Sky Sports.
“He has played a major role in the development of our style of play over the past couple of years and we believe he is ready for the job as head coach.”
Some may question why Smith did not push harder for Frank to join him at Villa Park if he was so integral to the tactical side of the management setup.
Perhaps he did and Frank’s ambition to be a boss in his own right resulted in Smith’s decision to bring Terry on board after an 11th hour chat over FaceTime (ITV Sport).
The proof as they say will very much be in the pudding.
Villa’s first priority to get themselves in the promotion picture, style can come later.
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