Dean Smith is looking to get Scott Hogan firing at Aston Villa.
The Birmingham Mail report that new Aston Villa boss Dean Smith will be holding talks with striker Scott Hogan shortly – and Smith has commented on the situation.
Smith was appointed as Villa boss last Wednesday after a week-long search for Steve Bruce’s successor, landing his dream job having grown up as a Villa fan.
The former Brentford boss arrives with plenty of questions to answer; how exactly will he fit Anwar El Ghazi, Albert Adomah, Jack Grealish, Jonathan Kodjia into one team? How will he manage a defence which is bereft of quality and even bodies?
Another question Villa fans have been posing surrounds striker Scott Hogan, who was Bruce’s most expensive Villa signing a huge £12million, as reported by BBC Sport in January 2017.
Hogan’s huge price tag hasn’t guaranteed goals, as he has scored just 10 goals in 54 games for Villa, and clearly didn’t fit into Bruce’s style of play.
Many may have thought that Hogan was a lost cause, but he is now reunited with Smith, the manager he scored 14 goals in 27 games under during the 2016-17 season before that move to Villa.
Many now think 26-year-old Hogan will have a renaissance under Smith, and the Birmingham Mail report that Smith is set to hold one-to-one talks with Hogan imminently.
Smith has commented on that, admitting he wants to ask Hogan just why things haven’t gone so well at Villa Park for him, giving him a chance to start afresh as Villa look to get the best out a hugely disappointing Bruce signing.
“When I sit down with Scott I will ask him why he thinks it hasn’t gone so well since he has been here,” said Smith.”He knows how I work. He also knows he will have to work hard. I will be respectful to him as long as I am getting the work on the pitch. It is a big football club to come into.”
“He came in as No.9 and probably didn’t get the goals he needed to hit the ground running. That is our job now. To make sure if it is him, Tammy or Jonathan, they hit the ground running with the goals. He will figure like everyone else. I’ve worked with Scott. I know what he’s about. He obviously hasn’t hit the ground running at Aston Villa but he certainly has the potential to do it but so has Tammy and Jonathan. I will be treating everyone the same with the respect they deserve,” he added.
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