Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith has now held his pre-game press conference ahead of our clash with local rivals Birmingham City this weekend.
We go into the tie with massively renewed confidence given the performance everyone put in during our heavy 4-0 defeat of Derby County in our last Championship clash, and every one of a Claret and Blue persuasion is hoping for a repeat performance to quieten the other side of the City.
Speaking to the Official Site to reflect on the Derby showing, Smith knew the return of Jack Grealish had played a part given what he brings to the pitch, but he knew there was more to the win that just our Academy product.
“Everyone will look at the Jack Grealish factor – but there was more to it than that. There was good performances throughout, from every player. When everyone is on it like that, you get those kind of displays. There was nobody below 7/10. Jed Steer, even. His distribution was good and he was vocally sound with his defence. It was a really good performance that followed on from Stoke, who we should have beaten as well.”
Fans will continue to debate how much of a lift the other players took from Jack returning, but there’s no denying everyone stepped up and put in a performance and we want more of that between now and the end of the campaign.
