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Dean Smith issues four-word response when asked if Gerrard will succeed at Aston Villa
Dean Smith accepted the Norwich City job just a few days after Aston Villa decided to replace him with Steven Gerrard. The 50-year-old has now had his say on his successor.
Smith played a massive part in Villa’s success over the last three years. He led them to promotion back to the Premier League, kept them in the top-flight in their first season back up and helped them finish 11th last campaign.
He helped Jack Grealish become the superstar he is today, which allowed Aston Villa to pocket a mammoth £100 million (). The Englishman is still loved by the club’s fans, but his focus is now on keeping Norwich up.
The Canaries, who have won just once this season, have a mountain to climb, which makes this job a lot tougher than Gerrard’s at Villa.
What Dean Smith said about Steven Gerrard
Smith, predictably, was asked about Gerrard in his press conference yesterday. He was quizzed on how the Liverpool legend will fare at Aston Villa and the Norwich boss responded with just four words.
“I have no idea,” the ex-Villa boss bluntly said, as per .
Speaking further about his boyhood club’s decision to go with Gerrard, Smith claimed that he hopes his successor will be successful at Aston Villa, but ‘not at Norwich City’s expense’.
Smith and Gerrard will go head to head in less than four weeks time at Carrow Road.
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Gerrard showed the world that he has what it takes to be a manager by helping Rangers beat Celtic to the Scottish League title. That experience will help him at Villa, but the Premier League is on a completely different level compared to the SPFL.
Villa are in a terrible position at the moment. They’ve lost each of their last five Premier League games and are currently 16th in the table, just two points above Burnley, who are in the relegation zone.
The new manager bounce usually helps teams get back to winning ways but it will not be easy. Villa take on a Brighton side who are very difficult to beat. If Gerrard doesn’t get his tactics right, a sixth consecutive defeat could well be on the cards this weekend.
