Harlee Dean gives honest verdict on Aston Villa’s ‘dream’ promotion

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Aston Villa will be back in the Premier League next season.

Birmingham City fans will have been gutted to see Aston Villa win promotion to the Premier League last week, but Harlee Dean has attempted to offer an honest view.

Villa beat Derby County 2-1 in the Championship playoff final, with Anwar El Ghazi and John McGinn firing Dean Smith’s side back to the top flight.

After three years away, Villa are returning to the Premier League, and their bitter rivalry with Birmingham will be on the back burner once again.

Villa beat Birmingham twice this season, 4-2 at Villa Park and 1-0 at St Andrews, claiming double bragging rights as they headed up to the Premier League.

Blues supporters will be hoping that Villa flop and Garry Monk can lead his side to the Premier League, but defender Dean has brought some realism.

Dean played for Villa boss Smith at Brentford before heading to Birmingham in 2017, so it’s no great surprise to see the centre back praise Smith in an interview with The Mirror, believing he’ll be great in the Premier League.

Dean is happy for Smith to have taken his boyhood club up to the top flight, admitting it’s a ‘dream’ situation – but he still hopes to beat them next season by drawing them in one of the cup competitions.

“Let’s be honest, you can’t take anything away from Villa,” said Dean. “They won 10 games in a row, which is different level stuff in this league. They were probably the strongest team in the play-offs as well and one of the better teams we have played this year. I think Dean Smith will be great in the Premier League. The fact that he was an Aston Villa supporter from a young age as well, it is very special for him. It is something dreams are made of.”

“I am over the moon for him. Fair play to them. Dean is my old manager and I couldn’t be happier for him — and his assistant Richard O’Kelly as well. They are up, we would have liked to have played them next season and beaten them, but you never know how the cup runs go,” he added.