Dean Smith shares what he told Aston Villa’s players before Brighton & Hove Albion clash

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Aston Villa boss Dean Smith led his side to a 3-1 victory on the south coast yesterday.

Dean Smith has told the Birmingham Mail that he ensured that Aston Villa’s players were fully focussed for their match against Brighton & Hove Albion before the game.

Villa made nine changes last night in the League Cup, but still came out victorious against Brighton.

And Smith has admitted that Villa are in the cup to win it this season.

“The words I said to them were attitude, application and teamwork and we got that in abundance tonight,” he said.

“Don’t get complacent in what you do. We’ve won this five times, the FA Cup seven times, we’ve got a rich history. Our aim is to win it.

“You’ve seen the numbers that have travelled down from Birmingham and we’ve given it our utmost respect although we made nine changes.”

Villa eventually beat Brighton in fairly comfortable fashion, as they picked up a 3-1 win on the south coast.

Goals from Jota, Conor Hourihane and Jack Grealish sent Villa on their way to the fourth round.

The performances of some of the fringe members in Villa’s team are sure to have given Smith food for thought, as he thinks ahead to the return of the Premier League this weekend.

The claret and blues take on Burnley on Saturday, and Smith may find room for some of the players that excelled at Brighton in his starting line-up.

Villa’s reward for winning last night is a fourth round tie with Wolverhampton Wanderers.