Dean Smith planning to take Aston Villa's players down memory lane to inspire Carabao Cup heroics

Victory over the reigning Premier League champions at Wembley would see Villa lift major silverware for the first time since their 1996 League Cup success.

Smith, a lifelong Villa fan, has spoken repeatedly of the club’s proud history in the competition during their run to this year’s final.

And he revealed how video clips of memorable moments from Villa’s previous final victories will be used to help inspire his team to create their own piece of history.

“The players will be relaxed and focused, I’ll be giving some reminders of what it takes to win cup finals and some reminders of the history of the club,” explained Smith.

“We will also talk about how we got here, we scored 19 goals so far, we’ve approached each round as a game to and win and this game is a trophy to go and win

“There will be something from myself, some visuals, some video clips and stuff on our previous League Cup wins.

“I’d be told off by Chris Nicholl, who was my assistant at Walsall, if I didn’t show his 40-yard goal from 1977 against Everton.”

Villa are rank outsiders against City but Smith, who was in the crowd when Ron Atkinson’s Villa overcame similarly long odds to beat Manchester United in 1994, knows nothing is impossible.

The head coach is keen for his team to embrace the occasion, but stressed preparations for the match have not differed greatly from a normal Premier League fixture.

“The only thing really different is we will have suits rather than tracksuits,” said Smith. “We think it is the right thing, traditional, with the romance of a cup final.

“Other than that, we travel down the day before the game, tickets have already been sorted for friends and family so it is just like another game.

“The players know the importance. The ones who have come in are aware of the history of the football club and the culture we want.

“They also know what it would mean to go and win trophies for the club.

“I have mentioned names – Andy Townsend, Kevin Richardson, former players who have gone and lifted trophies for Aston Villa.

“These players can be part of that history now and in 24 years be remembered in that same way.”

In addition to his own and Villa’s shared history, Smith will also utilise the career of assistant John Terry in emphasising the importance of the competition.

Smith was at Wembley when Terry won his third and final League Cup with Chelsea in 2015.

“I’ve used John as a pointer to the players very often in this competition, and how much it meant to him to lift a trophy,” said Smith. “I took my son to the final when JT lifted the trophy against Tottenham. People can belittle the League Cup, as being below the FA Cup, but you try and take one of those off John Terry and he’ll tell you quite markedly what he believes.

“He openly talks about the need to go and win trophies and finals, winning that play-off final last season has given us that appetite for more, that’s why we’ve probably been frustrated by our league position.

“And after our performance last week, this is our opportunity to realise those ambitions of winning trophies. Over a 15-year career, the players will get four to five opportunities to win something – they got a promotion last year and a medal for that, this time they can get a domestic final winners medal. Opportunities like this don’t come along very often.”

Sunday will also mark a year since Smith handed Jack Grealish the captain's armband.

The 24-year-old has admitted lifting a major trophy for Villa would be a dream come true but Smith believes Premier League survival represents the best chance of keeping him this summer.

Smith said: “Obviously, staying in this league is one of the biggest things to help us keep Jack Grealish.

“He wants to play at the highest level and he wants to win trophies.

“Winning a trophy? You could say we’ve just won one (if we win on Sunday)!

“But we’re going to work hard. We have to work hard on Sunday to win that trophy.

“Jack’s future, like the rest of the players, is down to what happens over the next three months. What we can do is assess it then.”