Report: After Smith sacking, Aston Villa now to discuss getting rid of three other staff members

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After Dean Smith’s sacking, Aston Villa will now discuss the futures of Aaron Danks, Austin MacPhee and Neil Culter, the Athletic report.

More to go at Villa?

Both Danks and MacPhee were appointments made by Smith this summer.

Danks was in charge of first-team coaching, while MacPhee was a specialist set-piece expert.

Cutler, meanwhile, has been a long serving member of Smith’s back-room team and is currently in charge of goalkeeping coaching at Villa.

With assistant manager Craig Shakespeare already gone with Smith, it seems that a full clear-out is now being discussed though.

The futures of the three staff members will now come under sharp focus, as Aston Villa get to work on replacing Smith.

Whether they stay or not could come down to whether Villa’s next manager wants to bring his own team with him or is content to work with the claret and blues’ current staff.

Villa are said to be like Steven Gerrard, Thomas Frank and Ralph Hasenhuttl as they weigh up Smith’s replacement (Athletic).

Smith’s sacking could be considered fairly harsh by some, but the fact is that Aston Villa’s results have been disappointing.

The claret and blues have just suffered five defeats in a row, but their form in 2021 has never actually been particularly strong.

Smith seems to have struggled to cope with the loss of Jack Grealish, who was so integral to their attacking play.

Sad news

Smith’s departure is still a sad day for the club, though.

The 50-year-old boss was an Aston Villa fan, and it was overtly clear what the job meant to him.

Smith had turned Villa from a side languishing in the Premier League to one thriving in the top flight, but expectations have rapidly grown at the Midlands club.

Aston Villa have invested heavily to improve their squad, and it seems that the owners have come to the conclusion that Smith wasn’t maximising the potential of their players.

Smith leaves Villa in 16th place in the Premier League table, two points above the drop zone.