Dean Smith still confident Aston Villa can survive despite Chelsea defeat
Dean Smith remains confident Villa can still beat the drop after they missed the chance to move out of the relegation zone with defeat to Chelsea.
Kortney Hause scored his first Premier League goal just before half-time to put Villa on course to escape the bottom three.
But Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giround netted in quick succession during the second half as the visitors, who dominated for long periods, came from behind to take victory.
Defeat left Villa sitting 19th in the table, one point from safety, with just eight matches now left to play.
Smith said: “It certainly won’t be doom and gloom even though it is a blow after taking the lead.
“There is an awful lot of belief within the dressing room. Since we have come back things have just felt good.
“Training sessions have been good, performances have been good. We took the lead and kept Chelsea at arms length for 60 minutes.
“We are no further away from safety. We have as good a chance as any of the teams down there.”
Smith, meanwhile, defended a defensive gameplan which saw the visitors dominate possession for long periods.
Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland twice denied Mason Mount in the first-half as the hosts spent much of the early part of the match camped in their own half.
The boss said: “I would love to have asked them a few more questions. But you have to get the ball off them first.
“I thought we did well in the last 15 minutes when we pressed them higher. But if you go and open up in the first half-an-hour against a team of Chelsea’s quality you will get picked off.
“That is what we did early in the season at times and got found out.
“If you get a pause in a season like we have and look back at the games where you have given away opportunities and been too open, then you have to do something about it.
“I think we look a better team for it. I think we have got the balance right.
“We only had 20 per cent possession but still had more attempts on target than they did. It shows you don’t always need the ball to have chances.”
Villa now travel to Newcastle on Wednesday evening with Smith urging his players to take the positives from their defensive performance.
"I was really pleased with the defensive organisation and the spirit they showed," he said.
"It has to (help with confidence). We are not playing against teams with the quality of Chelsea in all of the next eight games.
"The one thing we have worked on has been tougher to beat. I think we have certainly become that. Anyone who saw the game will know how hard Chelsea had to work to break us down. I never expected to have loads of the ball."
