Aston Villa appointed Dean Smith as their manager last month.
Mick McCarthy has told BeIN Sport that he knows he didn’t really have a chance of becoming Aston Villa manager – but is delighted they landed Dean Smith anyway.
Villa decided to sack manager Steve Bruce last month after a run of just one win in nine games, just months after he took the club into the Championship play-off final.
After links to Thierry Henry and Rui Faria, Villa ended up going for Smith, luring him away from Brentford after nearly three years in the Griffin Park hot seat.
Smith has opened his Villa tenure with two wins and two draws, with Villa fans encouraged about the future under a hugely popular new manager.
Smith grew up supporting Villa, which has immediately made him a favourite with fans, and it’s no surprise that he landed the job over other interested managers.
One manager who put himself forward for the job was McCarthy, as the former Ipswich Town boss had suggested that he would love to become Villa manager after Bruce’s sacking.
Now, McCarthy has admitted that he doesn’t think he ever had a real chance of becoming Villa manager, but is ‘delighted’ that Smith did land the job, whilst even claiming that he thinks Smith is a Premier League-calibre manager.
“I didn’t think there was ever any chance of me getting the Aston Villa job,” said McCarthy. “I’d been banging the drum for Dean Smith anyway, but I thought for a Premier League job because he had been excellent at Brentford, and I’m delighted he got the Villa job but sad for Steve Bruce,” he added.
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