Dean Smith: Aston Villa loanee Tammy Abraham is 'Premier League' quality

Abraham’s double ensured Villa recorded their first Championship win since Boxing Day, though they had to survive a late scare when Freddie Sears netted for the visitors.

The on loan Chelsea star, who turned down the chance to join Wolves earlier in the month, now has 19 for the season.

He needs just one more to become the first Villa striker since Peter Withe to net 20 in 1981 to net 20 in a league campaign.

Boss Smith, who watched Withe achieve that feat from the terraces, said: “It’s a statistic which has gone on for long and Tammy will thoroughly deserve it when he gets there.

“He certainly won’t settle on 20, he’ll want more.

“We all spoke about him staying at the football club, he’s now gone up to 19 goals and there’s certainly more goals in him with the games that we’ve got.

“It’s an outstanding tally of goals that he’s got since he’s got here and it’s just proving really he’s a Premier League playing in the Championship for us.”

Smith felt his team, who are up to 10th in the table, were worthy winners despite Sears’s late strike setting up a nervy finish.

Trevoh Chalobah hit the post for the visitors before Villa eventually saw the game out.

Villa’s boss also thought referee Keith Stroud was correct to award the second half penalty which allowed Abraham, who had opened the scoring inside six minutes, to double their advantage.

The referee ruled Alan Judge had fouled John McGinn, a decision which enraged Ipswich boss Paul Lambert, who felt his team should have been awarded a penalty of their own when Tommy Elphick appeared to handle substitute Colin Quaner’s shot.

“The two decisions are really poor,” said Lambert. “It’s never a penalty for Villa and a blatant penalty for us.

“If it’s a penalty for them then you will be giving penalties every week. It’s an absolutely incredible decision.”

Asked whether he felt Elphick handled the ball to deny Quaner, Lambert replied: “It wouldn’t look out of place in the NBA. Jesus Christ. It’s handball. It’s an unbelievable decision and the linesman is standing right there. It’s blatant.”

Smith said: “I‘ve not seen them back. At the time I thought it was a penalty.

“I thought Judge has grabbed John McGinn round the neck.

“The referee was four yards away she’s going to have a better idea than any of us in the dugout.

“The other one I just thought Tommy slid in. Between him and James Chester they stopped the ball going into the back of the net so I couldn’t see anything wrong with either of them.”