Dean Smith has officially taken charge of Aston Villa after he was unveiled as the club’s new head coach on Monday.
The former Brentford boss, who replaced Steve Bruce at Villa, has said in his first press conference that he has inherited a very good squad.
While most of the players are currently out on international duty, Smith worked with only 13 players in training. And he was impressed with the quality of the side.
He says that the players are enthusiastic and they want to get better.
“It’s a very good squad. I’ve only coached 13 players this morning because we’ve got a lot away on international duty who are due to come back later in the week,” said Smith as quoted by the Birmingham Mail.
“It’s a very good squad, the quality was very high this morning.
“They’re enthusiastic, they want to learn and to get better. That’s why we’ve come in.
However, the new claret and blues boss feels that Villa’s squad is currently unbalanced. In a recent interview to Aston Villa’s Youtube channel, he said the squad looks light at the back.
“It’s a fantastic squad, full of quality,” he said. “We probably look a bit unbalanced at the back at the moment, if we’re all honest.
“There’s only a couple of centre-backs at the football club. But, overall, I’m very happy with it.”
Smith is absolutely spot on with his assessment. Villa have a good squad capable of challenging for promotion but they do need reinforcement in defence during the January window.
Villa added Axel Tuanzebe as the only centre-back this summer while Bruce used Mile Jedinak out of position at centre-back.
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