Dean Smith credits supporters' return for Aston Villa win

Villa welcomed back their fans and signed off their campaign in style by beating the Champions League finalists 2-1 thanks to goals from Bertrand Traore and Anwar El Ghazi.

Ben Chilwell pulled one back to give the visitors hope and Smith claimed it was the 10,000 supporters inside Villa Park who helped his team over the line.

He said: “I honestly believe we won the game because of the supporters. I know the ground was only a quarter full but the noise levels were right up there. Hopefully we can soon get back to normality and a full crowd.”

Villa finished the season 11th in the Premier League table, a huge improvement on last year when they only avoided relegation on the final day.

But Smith, who was without Jack Grealish due to a shin injury for nearly a third of the campaign, remains hungry for more.

He said: “It’s been a season of progression. Our next task is to do better when our best players come out of the team.

“Unfortunately when Jack came out of the team our creativity dropped off and that is what we have to put right to be contesting in the top echelons of this league.

“We want progression. That means finishing higher each year. I have to become a better coach, the players have to become better players and then you become a better team.

“This week has certainly pleased me, after losing at Crystal Palace, to go to Tottenham and play as well as we did and then show a more dogged style yesterday. There are massive positives to take but we know we must get better.”