Aston Villa boss Dean Smith ‘pressed delete’ on bad day at the office
Boss Dean Smith says he has pressed the “delete button” on Villa’s poor performance against Brighton as they prepare to bounce back against Leicester.
Only an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez ensured Villa escaped the Amex Stadium with a point last weekend – with Graham Potters’ side dominating the ball and having 26 shots on goal.
Smith admitted post-match his team were lucky to head back to the Midlands with a point in their pocket following the goalless draw.
And he is determined his side will get back to their best when they take on Brendan Rodger’s Leicester on Sunday.
“My dog had a longer walk last Sunday because I wasn’t happy with the performance on Saturday,” Smith said.
“That gave me a bit more thinking time.
“I was thinking I wouldn’t do a debrief with the players simply because the performance was that bad.
“For me, sometimes people just have an off day, a bad day at the office.
“And that is what I have put it down to.
“I have never seen so many individual, unforced, errors for the players of the calibre we have got.
“Jack (Grealish) having a bad touch and getting booked. Douglas (Luiz) passing a ball off the pitch. Ezri (Konsa) giving the ball away.
“It felt like it was contagious so sometimes you just have to accept it.
“We walked away with a fortunate point and a clean sheet.
“It’s very rare that I get home and feel a game needs to be deleted. But the delete button certainly got hit.”
Villa host a Leicester side on Sunday who – along with Manchester United – currently sit joint-second in the table.
But while Smith knows it’s going to be a tough game, he believes his side is now a match for anyone in the Premier League.
“They (Leicester) are having a very good campaign – I expect that with Brendan in charge,” he said.
“Very good coach and very good players is a recipe for success.
“It’s no surprise how well they’re doing.
“We had a really close game against them at the King Power, where we managed to score in the last minute and take all three points.
“I expect a really tough encounter again but we’re really competitive in every game we play now.”
