Tammy Abraham told to keep up the good work for Aston Villa to realise England dream

The on loan Chelsea star continued his remarkable scoring run by netting for the seventh time in four games during Villa’s 3-0 win at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Smith believes Abraham, who earned two senior England caps while on loan at Swansea last season, is making people sit up and take note with his performances.

And he believes the 21-year-old’s best chance of catching Gareth Southgate’s eye is to maintain his current form.

Asked about Abraham’s England chances, Smith replied: “Tammy is playing for the under-21s at the moment. He is and around that.

“Whether he gets to go and play for the full team or gets a call up, who knows?

“All he can do is keep working hard and do what he is doing with us. He has made people sit up and take note by scoring seven goals in four games.

“At the moment we are getting the best out of him and long may that continue. He is wonderful to work with and has a great attitude and aptitude to learn. He will get better and better.”

Abraham is the focal point of a Villa attack which has begun to terrorise Championship defences.

Smith’s men have won four of their last five games, scoring 17 goals in the process.

The boss said: “I’m enjoying the performances. Results are the bonus. It is the performances which will get the results because you can’t control those.

“You can only control the performance and the players are doing that. They look like they are enjoying their football, which is good.”

Smith also reserved praise for midfielder Glenn Whelan, who came off the bench to score just his second goal in seven years at Boro.

“I’m made up for Glenn,” he said. ”You don’t get 85 international caps if you are not a top player. He is a top player.

“I have really enjoyed working with him. We have the likes of him, Mile and James Chester, who have all played at the top level. It is great for the younger players to learn from them, that is for sure.”