Report: Dean Smith fully backed John Terry’s Aston Villa return

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Dean Smith was confirmed as the new Aston Villa boss this week with John Terry returning to the Championship club as his assistant.

According to a report from the Telegraph, Dean Smith was fully behind Aston Villa’s decision to appoint John Terry as his assistant after being told by the board that Terry’s return was not a deal-breaker.

Smith was announced as the Villans’ new boss this week. The former Brentford manager’s name never seemed to completely leave the discussions regarding who was in contention, but it still seemed to be a major shock when it was announced on Wednesday night.

The speed of the appointment once Smith appeared to emerge as the top candidate was a little surprising given what he had helped build at Brentford, and it was confirmed in the same announcement that Terry was also returning as his assistant.

The Telegraph reports that Smith held discussions with Terry over the phone before the appointments were confirmed and decided that it would be good for the players if the retired centre-back came back to Villa Park.

The report adds that the board made it clear to Smith that Terry returning was not set in stone if he did not want to have him as part of his coaching team.

Potential dream team?

With Smith and Terry clearly pleased about the prospect of working together – the report discloses that Terry was impressed with the manager’s work at Griffin Park – it appears that the club have put a very harmonious team together. And it cannot be denied that the pair tick a lot of boxes.

Smith is an experienced boss at Championship level and his Bees side played some of the best football in the division. They continually surprised their critics by registering several top-half finishes.

Meanwhile, there are not too many players who can top Terry’s CV, and that winning mentality could make a real difference as Villa look to bounce back from their underwhelming start to the campaign.