Dean Smith shares what he told Aston Villa squad after Wigan defeat

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Aston Villa suffered another heavy defeat as they fell to 12th in the Championship on Saturday.

Dean Smith has suggested that he was particularly disappointed with how his Aston Villa side were outrun by their opponents as he explained to the club’s official website what he told his players following the defeat to Wigan.

Goals from Gary Roberts, Michael Jacobs and Joe Garner ensured that the Villans suffered back-to-back 3-0 defeats. They now sit 12th in the Championship table, five points off the play-off places.

It has been an alarming run of form under Smith. The side have taken one point in 2019, and have won just once in their last eight games. Wigan have the potential to be much higher up the table than their current position of 19th, but the manner of the loss will certainly worry the Villa boss.

And after the full-time whistle, he disclosed what he said to his squad in the dressing room, as well as where he feels the side go from here.

“I said that I came to Aston Villa because results weren’t going our way, and that it’s my job to get results,” he told the club’s official website. “We came in and hit the ground running. But from the performances against the likes of West Brom, Middlesbrough and Derby County – we were a million miles away from that.

“I’ll go back to the drawing board and have a look myself. I don’t think tactically there was too much wrong. We just weren’t good enough on the ball. They out ran us, too, and that’s disappointing.”

Smith’s appointment looked to be an excellent move from Villa given the work that he had done at Brentford, and his boyhood affection for the club. And it should surprise no-one if he proves to be the man who leads the Villans back into the Premier League at some stage.

It is certainly too soon to suggest that he should come under any kind of pressure. But Villa are starting to run out of time to get a run together that will take them right back into the promotion race, and questions should perhaps be asked of his triple substitution shortly after the hour-mark at the DW Stadium.

Albert Adomah was the only attacking option brought on despite two forwards being available to Smith. And the triple switch did not pay off as Wigan then scored two more goals to bag the three points.