Dean Smith hails sell-out Aston Villa crowd as he opens his tenure with victory
New Aston Villa boss Dean Smith heaped praise on the fans for turning out in their numbers to help kick off his tenure with a victory over Swansea City.
It was a sell out crowd at Villa Park, and they played their part by ramping up the atmosphere before kick off.
They chanted Smith's name throughout and he praised them for the part they played in the 1-0 victory.
He said: "It was great to give them their win today.
“We want to try to get the bums off the seats here and get them all down here.
“We’re grateful for them turning up today.
“It’s something like one of the biggest crowds of the day, including in the Premier League, so it shows what can happen at this football club if we have a plan to move forward."
Villa went ahead inside eight minutes as Tammy Abraham headed home against his former employers.
The hosts had the better of the play throughout the game, and the former Swansea striker could have even had a hat-trick.
Smith insisted there is more to work on, but the main thing was to get the three points.
He added: "It’s always a good start when you get three points.
“First half, I thought we were very good.
“The first 30 minutes we stuck to our game plan, won the ball back in good areas but probably didn’t convert the opportunities that we should have when we won the ball back.
“The players showed me that they are certainly coachable and take things on board quite well.
“I thought out energy levels dropped in the second half.
“We dropped a little deeper after the break and allowed Swansea to get on the ball and into pockets that they weren’t getting into during the first half.
“But saying that, we defended our box very well which we need to in this league."
It was an emotional day for Smith, who took charge of the club he supported as a boy for the first time.
It was doubly emotional with the tributes before the game to the late Villa chairman Sir Doug Ellis, and the new manager believes he will be smiling this evening.
Smith added: "It was fantastic and it shows what the Villa fans thought of him.
“All the ex-players turning up, the rousing reception, everything.
“Hopefully he’s sat up there smiling down on us tonight.
