Dean Smith: Aston Villa keeping pre-season options open
Villa have not ruled out travelling abroad during pre-season should government guidelines allow.
Though the current campaign still has a fortnight left to run the club already has one eye on preparations for next term.
Continued uncertainty during the pandemic means a variety of plans have been drawn up and are ready to be implemented, depending on what restrictions may be in place when the squad returns for pre-season training in July.
Like most Premier League clubs, Villa have traditionally travelled abroad for warm weather training with Dean Smith and his players visiting the USA ahead of the 2019-20 season.
But restrictions on travel last summer meant they had to remain in the UK when preparing for the current campaign and Smith admits it is necessary to have all bases covered.
He explained: “We have a plan A, plan B and plan C, depending on what the government guidelines are when they have their meeting in June.
“We certainly have plans in place and an idea of what we will be doing. We have games in place as well.
“We have a plan which may involve going to a foreign country but again we will be guided by government guidelines. We have a plan where we stay in the UK. We have to have everything covered and we do.”
Villa host Manchester United on Sunday, the first of five matches in the final fortnight of the season.